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| Students at Boones Mill and Henry elementary schools will receive the H1N1 vaccine Thursday |
Staff Photo by Joel Turner:
Some students at Sontag Elementary School chose the flu mist H1N1 vaccine instead of the injection vaccine (shots). |
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
By JOEL TURNER - Staff Writer
Students at Sontag and Snow Creek elementary schools became the first students in Franklin County to receive the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine on Monday.
Students lined up to get the vaccine, ending weeks of waiting.
A half dozen school and health department nurses administered the vaccine.
Both the flu mist and the injection (shots) vaccine were available at the schools.
Nurses will administer the vaccine at no cost to all students whose parents give permission for the inoculations.
Superintendent Charles Lackey and some other school employees received the HINI vaccine. School employees are receiving the vaccine because a flu outbreak among the school staffs could hamper school operations.
Students at Boones Mill and Henry elementary schools will receive the H1N1 vaccine on Thursday (Nov. 5).
Because of the uncertainty about when the vaccine will be available, school officials said they can't announce the schedule of when the vaccine and nurses will be at other schools. But parents will be alerted 24 hours ahead of time when the nurses will be at a school to administer the vaccine. School officials will use the all-call phone system to alert parents to the day when students in a particular school will receive the vaccine.
As the vaccine becomes available, school and health department nurses will go to every school in the county to administer it to students who have returned a permission form.
Bonnie Feldt, epidemiologist with the West Piedmont Health District, said the H1N1 vaccine is safe, and it cannot give the flu to a child or adult.
The top three prevention strategies for H1N1 flu are hand washing, social distancing and vaccination, she said.
Bacterial pneumonia is the biggest fear and threat for those who are infected with the H1N1 virus, Feldt said. |
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