• From: Ahmed Ismail <ahmed@portraitplacegpw.com>
    Date: November 22, 2015 at 12:33:45 PM EST
    To: "'Niehaus, Gary'" <Gary.Niehaus@gpschools.org>
    Cc: 'Brian Summerfield' <summerb@gpschools.com>, 'Cindy Pangborn' <cindypangborn@gmail.com>, 'Dan Roeske' <roesked@gpschools.com>, "'Lois Valente'" <valentl@gpschools.com>, 'Margaret Weertz' <weertzm@gpschools.com>, 'Admin All' <AdminAll@gpschools.org>, "Gafa, Judy (GPPSS)" <gafaj@gpschools.com>
    Subject: Surprise Flu Vaccination Issues and Parent Questions
    Reply-To: <ahmed@portraitplacegpw.com>

    Gary,

    This email is in follow up to your and Mrs. Gafa's emails (copies of both below) as well as the email all board members received from Mrs. Frevik yesterday (copy below).

    The calls continue to come in on this issue, and I am baffled as to why with all of the opportunities the administration has had why this vaccine date was kept under wraps from the board members and the parents of the students who did not want their students exposed to an airborne vaccine.

    Time is incredibly short if this is happening tomorrow, and I as well as many parents would like to know the following today:

    1.  What is the name of the school system staff member who had communication with Healthy Heroes and decided to schedule these vaccinations?

    2.  When was this decision made?  In her email below, Mrs. Gafa states that calls starting going out to parents November 6th to verify that they still wanted the vaccine.  Why was this kept secret from the rest of the community and the school board?

    3.  Why wasn't any mention of this made at last week's board meeting?

    4.  Why wasn't any mention of this made in Mrs. Fannon's weekly email blast to parents?

    5.  What schools is this being held at?  How many vaccinations are being given at each building?

    6.  Are the vaccinations being given the same day at all schools?  Please provide a list of the schools and what days and times it is being given.

    7.  Was there a school level communication that went out to all of the parents in the buildings in which these vaccinations are being given?  If so, which schools sent it and what day was it sent.  If not, why was it kept a secret?

    8.  What kind of provision has been made to accommodate parents who don't want their children exposed to an airborne vaccination?

    9.  Your email states that there will be a physician in the district the during the vaccinations.  Does that mean that there will be a physician on site as the vaccinations are being given, or that there is one physician who is "on call" in the event that a building has a problem?

    10.  Mrs. Frevik's email advised the board that Healthy Heroes is substituting a vaccine named Fluzone in lieu of the FluMist vaccine presented to the school board.  Is this true?

    11.  If it is true, was the school system advised of this substitution?  If so, who was advised and when?

    12.  If this substitute vaccine is being used, does it in fact contain mercury as Mrs. Frevik has alleged?  

    13.  If it does contain mercury, were the parents who have signed up for this vaccine made aware of this fact?  Did they submit new paperwork relieving the school system of any liability as a result of the substitution?

    14.  Last and most important, how is the school system planning on communicating the answers to the above questions to all of the parents in the district today so that they can make a decision as to how they want to handle their student's attendance on the day the vaccines are being given?

     

    Your providing the answers to the questions above right after the question will be most appreciated.  Time is of the essence in communicating this information to the entire parent community.

     

    Thank you,

     

    Ahmed

     

    From: Rachael Frevik

    Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2015 7:56:02 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

    To: School Board

    Subject: Flu Vaccine URGENT

     

    ***Healthy Heroes is offering the Fluzone vaccine as an option in lieu of the Flumist quadrivalent nasal spray, which contains THIMEROSAL (Mercury) as an ingredient, as verified by the CDC ingredient list.  Mercury is banned in Michigan schools, as outlined in the information below.

    -Enrolled Senate Bill 1262, Public Act 376 of 2000.

     

    Please refer to Michigan Legislation regarding the use of mercury in K-12 schools.  http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(hmlniletnt0zaubafmwpyceb))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-380-1274b

     

    (380.1274b Purchase, storage, or use of free flowing elemental mercury or instrument that contains mercury; restrictions; absence of mercury-free alternative for instrument; disposal of mercury and instruments containing mercury.)

     

    This is a violation of Michigan law, and I believe that the Michigan Department of Education needs to be made aware of this ASAP.

     

    If you would like to contact me, my number is 313.442.2402

     

    Rachael Frevik 🐑

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    From: Judy Gafa [mailto:gafaj@gpschools.com]
    Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2015 6:02 PM
    To: Niehaus, Gary
    Cc: ahmed@portraitplacegpw.com; Brian Summerfield; Cindy Pangborn; Dan Roeske; Lois Valente; Margaret Weertz; Admin All
    Subject: Re: Flu Mist

     

    Thanks Gary

    But again I think the concern of the BOE is that we weren't notified and we are finding out via community members.  Hot button issues need to be communicated.  Parents were called starting Nov 6th. Today is the 19th.  My personal request moving forward is please keep the board in the loop.

    Thank you

    Judy

    ------------------------------------------------------------------


    On Saturday, November 21, 2015, Niehaus, Gary <Gary.Niehaus@gpschools.org> wrote:

    Dear Board Members,

    I received a phone call from Ahmed Ismail and an email from Ahmed and Cindy Pangborn about the Flu Mist.  Both emails detailed the Facebook activity that was beginning to surface.  It is probably better to get everyone informed today rather than tomorrow's weekly bulletin.

    After Healthy Heroes offered the first Flu Mist, we had approximately 300 students that requested the Flu Mist.  After Healthy Heroes cancelled the first date, they planned to get the Flu Mist and come back.  We talked about the first week of December.  We decided on Monday, November 23, 2015.

    Healthy Heroes called and asked if we still had 300 students wanting Flu Mist.  Rebecca made a robo-call to the 300 students (parents) and only a handful (12) had already received a Flu vaccination.  The robo-call asked the parent to call if they were no longer interested.  We have about 20 per school to give.

    We decided to give the 300 students the Flu Mist with the perimeters that were discussed.

    -          Flu mist (white form) and flu shots (green form) will occur at the sites that collected forms
    -           The parent form(s) have been collected by the building secretaries.
    -          This will be Monday, November 23 (the Monday before Thanksgiving Break)
    -          Rebecca requested the forms from the participating school secretaries and she personally contacted those families by phone
    -          The nurses will wear gloves
    -          A physician will be present in the district as a precaution
    -          We will keep you informed as this moves forward

    Please call me if you have any questions.

    Thanks,
    GCN