California set to implement food-allergy law

BERKELEY, Calif. — A growing national consciousness on the dangers of food allergies is reflected in a new state law that goes into effect Jan. 1, recommending schools keep vital medication on hand to prevent student deaths.

The Emergency Epinephrine Auto-injector Act, which was passed in September, recommends that at least one EpiPen injector is stocked at each public school, and at least one staff member is trained to use it. Similar laws have been passed in about 45 states nationwide, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Food Allergy Research & Education. In addition, a federal law was passed last year that rewards states that make it mandatory that schools stock epinephrine by giving them preferential treatment in awarding certain grants.

A number of Bay Area school districts were stocking EpiPens in anticipation of the law.

The Oakland, Castro Valley and Palo Alto school districts are participating in a free EpiPen training program, called EpiPen4Schools, offered by device manufacturer Mylan Specialty to schools that have a prescription. As of Tuesday, 1,437 schools in California had taken advantage of the program.

However, complying with the law has not been easy for some districts.

Rikki Moreno, a nurse for the Berkeley Unified School District, said the district is having a hard time finding someone to write the prescription for district schools.

"The law says physicians can do this, but the problem is they are still worried about their liability," Moreno said. "The law releases liability for people at schools who would give it to the students, but not the prescriber."

She said she's heard that other school districts are scrambling to try to figure out who will prescribe them, too. "Everyone is running into the same problem," Moreno said. "I don't think anyone is going to be up and running Jan. 1."

Toni Taylor, an assistant superintendent for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, said her district is stocking EpiPens and is prepared for Jan. 1.

Prior to the law, if students had severe allergies, they had to carry their own EpiPen, or the devices were kept in stock at the school in their name. But EpiPens could not be administered if the devices were in another child's name -- all that could be done was to call 911.

About 25 percent of people are stricken with a severe allergic reaction for the first time in a school setting, said Bill Bird, a spokesman for state Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, who sponsored the bill. The only known treatment for an anaphylactic reaction -- a severe whole-body allergic reaction that is life-threatening to allergens such as nuts, bee stings, seafood, dairy, eggs, some drugs and even latex -- is an EpiPen. Its injection needs to be administered in the first 20 to 40 minutes to prevent death.

Due to opposition from unions, the state law is voluntary because not all schools have staff nurses on hand, Bird said. But, medical experts argue, "You cannot hurt a child by giving a shot of epinephrine, but the only danger is they get it, and they don't get it," he said.