Swine Flu Shots May Fall Short

Township officials may have to come up with ways to prioritize swine flu shots for the public if supplies fall far short of expectations.

Committeeman Brian Scanlan reported at this week's governing body meeting that the Board of Health has received notice that it may receive only 1,000 vaccine dosages, far short of the 2,400 it had hoped for.

The Board of Health has planned to vaccinate children and teachers on Dec. 4 and 5 at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School, dependent upon supply. But the Wyckoff board has little control over what it receives and when. Dorothy Fish, the president of the Board of Health, has said the H1N1 shots are disseminated from the federal government down to the state, which will provide the Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission with supplies. Wyckoff contracts with Northwest for health services.

Wyckoff would not be alone should supplies fall short. Many communities around the nation are dealing with the same news, as vaccine supply has fallen short of expectations while being late to arrive to municipalities.

Scanlan told his colleagues that the Board of Education and Township Committee may need to think about how to prioritize doses should the Board of Health only receive 1,000 vaccines, which wouldn't cover the entire school system.

Participation in the planned sessions at Eisenhower would be purely voluntary. Parents or guardians would have to accompany their child if they want them inoculated against the virulent flu strain that is increasingly being blamed for deaths around the nation.

In the meantime, the school district has posted instructions and tips on its Web site on dealing with H1N1. Superintendent Dr. Janet Razze wrote that the district would take steps to ensure the kids' safety should cases start popping up in the schools. Potentially, the district could screen students and staff for flu and fever symptoms as they arrive at school. She also wrote that school events and trips could be canceled, and ill students could be barred from the buildings for seven days.

The Board of Health is expected to address the H1N1 vaccine at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. today on the second floor of Memorial Town Hall.

• Committeeman Rudy Boonstra, liaison to the Wyckoff Public Library, reported that the facility will not go out to bid on its expansion project until December or January. 

Boonstra told his colleagues that he was "pointedly critical" of the library's successful presentation this fall before the zoning Board of Adjustment, which approved plans to construct an addition to house a children's room and enlarged community meeting room. 

The project will be paid for out of the library's surplus funds, which the township doesn't control. Some have criticized the potential cost, which won't be truly known until bids start coming in. However, the library has up to $4 million to draw from to pay for the project, and the Board of Trustees has identified roughly $307,000 that could come back to the municipality after the expansion is priced.

Boonstra also had told the Board of Trustees that the presentation was lacking in specific details on the addition's architectural flourishes.

Trustees have said they want to get the bidding process started so as to take advantage of lower rates in a slow economy.

• Committeeman Richard Alnor reported to the governing body that the fire departments in Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland have agreed to make a group purchase of needed items to take advantage of cost savings. 

Alnor said the departments will join to purchase six items—turnout gear, helmets, hose, hose tests, pump tests and communication devices—rather than buying them separately.

Franklin Lakes didn't join the meeting of departments, but Alnor said the municipality was onboard.

• The governing body approved a request from the Wyckoff Family YMCA to erect temporary signs advertising "The King and I" at the corner of Franklin Avenue and Main Street and at the Lukoil gas station.

The classic will be staged from Dec. 3 to 6 by the Y Arts Theatre Company at the YMCA.

• The Township Committee also approved the receipt of $130,000 from the state that will be applied toward surfacing work on Monroe Avenue.

Scott Fisher, DPW manager, has said that the grant will pay for milling and paving work on the heavily traversed roadway. The project will go out to bid and cannot exceed the monetary limits of the grant. Fisher has said that work likely won't start until next summer, after school lets out.