Delaware students start getting H1N1 vaccine

Elementary school students in Delaware are starting to get vaccinated against H1N1.

They came in groups of five or ten Monday morning at Jennie Smith Elementary School near Newark.  After a brief chat with the nurse, the students were given the first doses available to schools of the H1N1 vaccine.  The nasal spray vaccinations were only available to students who had signed parental permission slips.  New Castle County Health Administrator Anita Muir says about half the students will get the vaccine at school.

“That’s about average, I would say.  A lot of people will want to get a shot from their own private physician.  A lot of people don’t qualify for the FluMist because they have a chronic condition.  It has to be healthy children, that don’t have any other conditions that are able to take the FluMist.”

Muir says the H1N1 vaccination sessions present a challenge to health officials who are trying to schedule staff to distribute the vaccine.  “It’s very much a challenge to keep up with our regular work because all of our nurses and all of our staff have other public health work that they need to be doing on a regular basis.  We’re having to try to schedule our nurses once or twice a week to do these (H1N1) shots, and then allow them to do their job the other three days.”

School vaccinations will be held throughout the state this week and through the month.  For now, the vaccine is only being given at elementary schools.  In the coming weeks, state health officials say older students will be able to get the injectable version of the vaccine at school.