October 29, 2009 Students and the H1N1 virus Play video

(NECN) - To tackle H1N1 concerns throughout the region, a panel of experts addressed the misconceptions about the disease and the vaccine as part of NECN's H1N1 two-hour special.

Expert panel:

• Dr. Anita Barry, Boston Public Health commissioner
• Dr. Gwenn O'Keefe, CEO/editor-in-chief, Pediatrics Now
• Dr. Richard Zane, Brigham & Women's Hospital vice chair, Department of Emergency Medicine
• Dr. Myechia Jordan, CEO Dimock Community Health Center
• Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, N.H. deputy state epidemiologist
• Dr. Anita Barry, Boston Public Health Commission
• Dr. Alasdair Conn, Emergency Services, Mass. General Hospital
• Dr. Laura Riley, OBGYN Mass. General Hospital

"A lot of colleges are -- in the setting of an outbreak -- recommending that if the students live close to campus that they can go home for the period of the outbreak," Dr. Dionne-Odom said.

In some cases, school closures are in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.

"Most of the transmission happens in the first three-to-four days," Dr. Barry said.

Dr. Zane said that by the time the decision has been made to close a school, the virus has already spread.

The case of Boston school closures, according to Dr. Barry, was simply because too many students are out to teach effectively.