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H1N1 Vaccination Clinics Continue
To date, 17 in-school H1N1 Vaccination Clinics have been held in county public schools. The next clinics are scheduled for Tuesday, December 1, at Dayton Oaks and Veterans elementary schools. Clinics are being scheduled as the Howard County Health Department receives batches of the vaccine. Although school and health officials agreed to schedule schools with the largest enrollments first, the schedule has varied because the Health Department is constrained by the number of doses that arrive in each shipment, so schools have been taken out of order.
Meanwhile, reports of student absences due to flu-like symptoms have declined in recent weeks and it appears that the H1N1 influenza may have peaked. However, health officials will continue to offer opportunities for high-risk populations to receive the vaccine in hope of avoiding a resurgence of the H1N1 flu.
H1N1 Consent Forms for Middle and High School Students
If your child's school has not yet had an H1N1 flu vaccination clinic, he/she will bring home a consent form for the injectable vaccine within the next week. You must fill out the consent form and return it to the school within one week if you want your child to receive the vaccine.
The consent forms are being collected now, even though your school may not be scheduled for a clinic at this time. This will allow the Health Department to schedule clinics more quickly when they receive doses of the vaccine.
If you fill out a consent form and then have your child vaccinated before the school's flu clinic is held, please notify the school.
Second Doses - H1N1 Vaccine for Children under the Age 10
Health officials recommend that children under the age of 10 receive two doses of the H1N1 vaccine to increase immunity. The Howard County Health Department is now offering free second doses of H1N1 vaccine for children under the age of 10. Check the Howard County Health Department web site for clinic dates, times and locations at www.hchealth.org.
Please note that a child can receive a second dose if he/she received either the mist or a shot as a first vaccination. It does not matter if the child received the first H1N1 dose at a school clinic or through a private physician. For additional information, contact Community Health Nurse Supervisor Kristine R. Holmes, RN, MA, at 410-313-7528.