It’s the flu that won’t act like the flu.

H1N1, or swine flu, is hanging on more fiercely than many health experts predicted. The hope was that it would dissipate, as influenza often does, when school ends and summer begins. Back in May, there were 16 confirmed cases in Washington state. Now there have been 98 Washingtonians hospitalized and four have died. Idaho has had 115 confirmed cases. Thousands more in both states have been infected.

Clearly, H1N1 has set up shop in the Northwest, so public health mobilization is necessary. Five hundred public health officials, including Washington Health Secretary Mary Selecky, attended a White House summit on the issue, where they learned of plans for the federal government to pay for mass vaccinations.

However, the vaccines may not be ready until October, and school starts in late August in many districts. So school leaders need to work closely with public health officials for plans on what to do when students become infected. All schools need to follow protocols designed to limit the spread of the flu. Sensible standbys like hand-washing and staying home when sick need to be reinforced.

Last spring, the feds offered conflicting guidelines on whether schools should be closed if there is an outbreak. Unless the H1N1 turns deadlier, federal health officials say it may be enough just to keep the infected children home. This goes for anywhere, such as workplaces, where large numbers of people gather.

When vaccines become available, schools are the logical location for inoculating children. This strain is attacking younger people. None of the people hospitalized in Washington state has been older than 50. The last mass inoculations at schools were in the 1950s with the polio vaccine.

Though H1N1 is triggering an intensified public health response, it’s important for the public not to panic. A total of 429 people have died worldwide. During a normal flu season in the United States, about 36,000 people die.

The media play an important role in making sure the public response is proportional to the danger. Last spring, there were too many melodramatic headlines and stories. It would be irresponsible to offer up another dose of that.

The key to warding off panic is education and preparation. Parents of schoolchildren should be contacted well ahead of the first day of attendance to advise them of the continuing threat, contingency plans and possible inoculation schedules. Schools need a strategy for dealing with parents who are opposed to vaccinations, but they cannot back away from the best ways to protect a majority of students.

All of us can do our part by staying home when sick and keeping our ailing children out of child-care centers and other public places.

In the meantime, keep washing those hands and cover up when coughing.