On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that,  to date, 4,000 Americans have died of H1N1, the so-called swine flu.

Flu deaths in Europe are doubling by the week, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Clearly, the flu threat is frighteningly real. Which is why the Auburn School Department's less-than-speedy approach to inoculating students is so curious.

The school department was offered H1N1 vaccine for students and staff as early as Oct. 26, according to the Maine CDC, but didn't get the vaccine for all schools immediately because it wasn't ready to administer the shots.

Middle school and high school students were treated first, and the first clinic for elementary students was held at Washburn on Nov. 9 — two weeks after the vaccine was available. That time was needed, according to Auburn school officials, to get parents' permission and schedule clinics.

While completely understandable that time was needed to get organized to ensure parents are aware and as many children as possible are vaccinated, H1N1 didn't arrive in surprise. The threat was on the horizon months prior to Oct. 26, and the district had gads of time to get organized in preparation for available vaccines.

Officials could and should have arranged — in advance — enough nurses to promptly inoculate students and staff by compiling a list of volunteer nurses, squeezing the budget for money to pay nurses per diem, or collaborating with the Lewiston School Department to share nursing staff to best guard the public health of all children in Lewiston and Auburn.

Did more elementary students get sick in Auburn than would have if students were inoculated sooner? No one will ever know, but in districts where clinics are long finished — like Lewiston and Oxford Hills — absentee rates are lower because fewer students are sick. In Auburn, two schools with flu clinics held later than others — Park Avenue and East Auburn — have the highest absentee rates.

East Auburn students got their vaccine just yesterday; Park Avenue will administer shots next Tuesday — more than three weeks after the vaccine was available.

There is a clear connection between early vaccination and healthier students, something that could and should have been anticipated in Auburn. The district could never have acted fast enough to avoid H1N1 in the schools altogether, but it could have done so much more to prevent the spread of illness in its schools.

Responding to an e-mail from a Park Avenue parent (who is also an employee of this newspaper) challenging Auburn's slow response, Auburn School Committee Chairman David Das had a more basic explanation for the high absenteeism in Auburn:

"There are many reasons for absenteeism. I could make the claim that Auburn parents are better parents than Lewiston parents -- they keep sick children at home while in Lewiston parents send sick children to school."

Really?

Couldn't it be that Auburn was slower than Lewiston to protect students with H1N1 vaccine?