Created on Monday, 09 November 2009 13:31
Contact: Collette DuValle, 317-373-2391
School-Based H1N1 Clinics Underway
The Marion County Health Department anticipates providing nearly 3,000 H1N1 vaccinations to county elementary-aged Marion County school children today.
Health officials received 2,980 consent forms for today’s school-based clinics, the first of clinics that will continue through mid-December.
Nurses will be vaccinating in ten elementary schools per day for the next 10 days. Beginning November 30, health officials will begin vaccinating middle and high school students. The goal is to vaccinate all public health students prior to the end of year.
Parents will be receiving an information letter and consent form prior to the vaccination clinic day. The consent form must be signed and returned by the due date in order for the student to receive the vaccine. The consent forms are used to allocate doses of vaccine per school. Students who do not have a signed consent form or who miss the deadline will not be eligible for the vaccine.
There are more than 161,400 school-aged children enrolled in Marion County schools. Local health officials would like to vaccinate at least half of these students through the clinics. Nationally, participation rates have ranged from 30 to 70 percent.
The Marion County Health Department is cautiously optimistic there will be enough vaccine to serve the school-based clinics. Any disruption in vaccine production or delivery could change the clinic schedule.
Additional information on the school clinics can be found at www.mchd.com or by calling the Marion County Health Department Flu Helpline at 221-3366. The bi-lingual helpline is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
