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September 2, 2009

Flu clinics coming to schools

By Trent Moore

Local schools could become temporary flu vaccination sites soon.

With the H1N1 swine flu strain already beginning to spread around Cullman County, the department of public health is working with local school systems to make flu vaccinations as widely available as possible.

“Based on the CDC’s recommendation, we are working with the school systems to take the H1N1 vaccine to the schools,” Cullman County Health Department Clinic Supervisor Crystal Page. “We offered our assistance and they all seemed agreeable in working together to make that happen.”

The concept has been under consideration for some time, as the health department held a mock flu vaccine clinic in April at West Point Middle School in anticipation of flu season.

A handful of schools will likely be chosen a few at a time, Page said, depending on their accessibility around the county.

“It is going to be strategic, depending on the location and size of the community,” she said. “We also have the possibility of opening up certain hours for school children, then certain hours for people in the community.”

Page said she would like to have the clinics operational sometime in October.

“That’s what we’re looking at, tentatively,” she said. “We’re really going to need community support.”

By partnering with the schools, a larger distribution network will be created to disseminate the vaccine faster, Page said.

“The target age is 6 months to 24-years-old,” she said. “The vaccination will be optional, and we’ll have to have a signed consent form from the parents ... The discussion right now is that the vaccine will be free, but there are still so many things up-in-the-air right now.”

Cullman County Board of Education Superintendent Hank Allen said the county school system will do everything possible to work with the health department on the project.

“We will provide the facility and they will provide the guidance,” he said. “We’re looking at having all the schools being used at one point or another. We feel the convenience would be good for the students and the community.”

Cullman City Schools Superintendent Dr. Jan Harris said nurses will likely stay late at the immunization sites to provide immunization for the general public, as well.

“Nurses who have been approved by the Alabama Department of Public Health will stay in the afternoon to let people come in after school to get the immunization,” she said.

Cullman Emergency Management Agency Director Phyllis Little said the local EMA would also be involved in the project in a support role.

“We will help with any outside assistance they might need with traffic control, or work with law enforcement,” she said.

As of August 27, Alabama has 1,587 confirmed cases of novel H1N1 influenza, bringing the total number of probable and confirmed cases in the state to 1,621, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Eight cases have been laboratory confirmed in Cullman County. Three deaths have been associated with the novel H1N1 influenza virus in Alabama.



‰ Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.

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