Child Care Toolkit

Chances are, Patient Zero is in one of your classrooms right now.

You know, Patient Zero: the first child or client in your facility to contract the flu. The one who will likely unknowingly give it to others — and to your staff.

The one who could even die, because flu can and does kill people, especially children.

While the CDC recommends the flu vaccine as the best way to protect against the flu — and advises that everyone over the age of 6 months gets an annual flu vaccine — fewer than 40 percent of Nevadans actually get it.

This is why we’re writing to you today; we are here to ask for your help communicating with your parents and staff, in an effort to increase vaccination rates and keep our community healthy.

Primarily, we are hoping those of you with computerized check-in/out mechanisms will allow us to help craft a brief message to display to parents prior to them being allowed to conduct their check-in business. This will simply be a reminder about the CDC recommendations about flu vaccines — every person over 6 months of age, every year — as well as a reminder about timeliness: the CDC recommends vaccination as soon as vaccines are available, which is now.

The fact is, flu is more than just a bad cold or fever. In fact, it’s the leading cause of death and illness from a vaccine-preventable disease in the United States. According to the CDC:

Children commonly need medical care because of influenza, especially before they turn 5 years old.
Severe influenza complications are most common in children younger than 2 years old.
Annually, an average of 20,000 children under 5 are hospitalized because of flu complications.
More than 200,000 Americans are hospitalized and thousands die every year from the influenza virus.
Flu causes 38 million lost school days and 111 million lost workdays a year, resulting in more than $7 billion in lost wages.
The median age of children who died from the flu virus from Jan. 2014-June 2015 was 5.9 years old.

Keeping your staff healthy is the best way to keep your children — and their parents — happy and healthy as well. By encouraging your staff members to get a flu vaccine, you’re ensuring that they’re able to work and provide for their families, while also protecting those in your care from potentially getting the flu.

Child care providers can support influenza vaccination in their program by:

Checking influenza vaccination records regularly to ensure each child in their care is up to date on their vaccinations.
Educating staff and ensuring that all staff receive their flu vaccine each season.
Educating parents in their program and helping connect them to credible resources.

Take steps TODAY to help you prepare:

Get your flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible, and encourage all staff, children, and parents to get the flu vaccine. Everyone needs a flu vaccine each year!
Examine and revise your program’s written plan for seasonal flu.
Invite a pediatrician or other healthcare professional to provide influenza prevention education to your staff.
Use posters and handouts to educate caregivers and staff about proper hand hygiene and cough/sneeze etiquette. You can also order Flu Materials from Immunize Nevada.
Update family contact information and child records, so parents can be reached quickly if they need to pick up their sick child.
Download the

Below is a virtual toolkit of materials for use within your organization:

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for content you can easily share on your own social media outlets.
Newsletter articles and social media posts.
Download the “Ready Wrigley Prepares for Flu Season” Coloring Books
- ENGLISH
- SPANISH
Download the “Are you a Flu Fighter?” Coloring Books
- ENGLISH
- SPANISH
Download the complete toolkit for 2018-2019 flu season. Top resource links are available here:
- Flu Guide for Parents
- Reducing spread of illness in child care settings
- AAP resources for parents and child care providers
- AAP Strategies for Preventing Influenza
- Teaching Kids about the Flu - lesson plans and activities
- Be a Germ Stopper - lessons in ENG/SPA
- Sesame Street Handwashing Flyer
- Disinfecting schools to prevent the spread of flu

We will continue to provide updated information on this page.

Please give us a call at or email if you have any additional questions. Thank you for your help keeping Nevada healthy!