School Closures May Not Be Necessary When Swine Flu Strikes

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"Only schools with high numbers of high-risk students or students getting the flu should actually consider closure," Napolitano said.

Health officials may have another tool in their arsenal, as well: a swine flu vaccine.

"The best way to prevent the spread of the flu is vaccination, and our scientists are working hard to have a vaccine ready for consumption by mid-October," Sebelius said. According to the CDC's Frieden, "the vaccine will most likely, at least for children, require two doses separated by about three weeks or more."

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"Because not a lot of kids get vaccinated against flu in a regular flu season, it's going to be challenging to get lots of kids vaccinated," he noted.

When the H1N1 vaccine is available, "we hope all providers and venues where flu vaccine can be given will be used. That includes, wherever possible, school-located vaccine clinics," Frieden said. "It's a great way to get all the kids vaccinated."

One expert called the new recommendations "sensible and reasonable," but noted that certain illnesses other than flu can cause sudden fever.

"My only concern is that people who dont have flu, I think they are recommending that anyone with a sign of fever has to be out of school for a week," said Dr. Stuart E. Beeber, attending physician at Northern Westchester Hospital and a pediatrician in private practice in Chappaqua, N.Y. "You could have a strep throat or gastroenteritis or something, and that's overkill for those people and a hardship on the families, working parents -- providing babysitters and so on for someone who has strep throat and is treated with penicillin and is ready to go back to school in a day or two."

Beeber noted that it is relatively quick and easy to identify strep throat, however, and the flu does have a distinctive set of symptoms. "To me, there are certain things - if you tell me you have chills, aches, you feel like someone hit you over the head with a sledgehammer, you've got the flu," he said.

More information

Find out the latest on H1N1 flu at the CDC.

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