FCPS Will Keep EpiPens in All Schools

New state legislation requires all schools to have epinephrine injections available in case a student experiences an anaphylactic reaction.

Fairfax County Public Schools announced that it will keep epinephrine auto-injectors, also known as EpiPens, in all county schools this coming school year.  The EpiPens will be kept in all schools because of legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year that makes it mandatory. The law requires that all schools have policies to have the injection on hand and how it should be administered in the case of a student experiencing an anaphylactic reaction.  Parents of children with known allergies will still be responsible for providing their own children's epinephrine medications, and they are still required to make sure their children's injection and doctor's orders are at their child's school in case the student has an…

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Virginia General Assembly

Law Requires Schools to Carry EpiPens

Death of Ammaria Johnson sparks legislation aimed at saving lives.

By Amir Vera Capital News Service RICHMOND – When Tiffany Glass Ferreira’s son Charlie was 3, she offered him a treat that nearly killed him. “I gave him cashews. He took one bite and started to have a severe reaction, where he was crying, grabbing his tongue – his face started to swell,” Ferreira said. “He looked like a Klingon, like a science-fiction character.” Charlie, now 5, ultimately recovered. To save other children from potentially fatal reactions to food allergies, Virginia last week adopted a law requiring schools to carry epinephrine auto-injectors, such as EpiPens. These devices deliver a single dose of epinephrine, or adrenaline, into the thigh of someone suffering a life-threatening allergic reaction. After talking with …

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