Mass distribution of free, intranasally administered influenza vaccine in a public school system.

Objective: School-based influenza vaccination programs are a potentially important method of protecting the community against influenza. We evaluated the feasibility and success of a large, school-based influenza vaccination campaign.

Methods: On-site administration of intranasally administered, live attenuated influenza vaccine was offered to all students and staff members in a large, metropolitan public school system in October to December 2005.

Multifaceted syndromic surveillance in a public health department using the early aberration reporting system.

Local health departments concerned with early detection of potential terrorist threats are beginning to explore novel approaches to syndromic surveillance. Using the Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS) developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a metropolitan health department in Tennessee and five community partners have agreed to exchange data in order to implement a multifaceted syndromic surveillance system for early detection of a biological attack. This article describes how we used EARS as the foundation for implementing a surveillance system that encompasses a rich variety of data sources.