Mylan Specialty announces winners of anaphylaxis awareness campaign

PITTSBURGH — Four school districts have won a competition sponsored by Mylan to raise awareness about dangerous allergic reactions, the company said Wednesday.

Mylan, whose Mylan Specialty division makes the EpiPen injector pen for severe allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis, announced the winners of the Raise Your Hand for Anaphylaxis Awareness competition, for which it hired actress Julie Bowen as a celebrity spokeswoman.

The winning school districts are the Cheektowaga-Sloan Union Free School District, Cheektowaga, N.Y.; the Oxford Township School District, Oxford, N.Y.; the Utica Community Schools, Sterling Heights, Mich.; and the Ossining Union Free School District, Ossining, N.Y.

The competition called for local communities to educate others in the school environment to recognize a life-threatening allergic reaction and be prepared to respond if one occurs. It included more than 830 school districts in all 50 states, calling on students to virtually "raise hands" and express awareness of anaphylaxis. In total, the campaign received nearly 150,000 responses in four months.

Each of the winning school districts will be awarded a $15,000 educational grant, which they are encouraged to use to fund programs about life-threatening allergies, such as training staff, inviting speakers and implementing hand-washing stations throughout the school.