This is the latest update on NISD's efforts to vaccinate school children in Northside Schools.
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Here is the Summary:
--There is NO definite timetable from Metro Health Dept and federal health agencies on when vaccine will arrive.
--This has caused NISD to change its strategy of vaccinating elementary school aged children first. The main reason is the later we move into November to vaccinate, the slimmer the chances are that we can administer the second required vaccine within four weeks because of the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays.
--NISD will begin with secondary aged students first.
--There is no schedule being published yet since we do not know when vaccine will be in our hands.
--NISD will NOT administer the mist vaccine because it is a live virus; only shots will be given.
--NISD will NOT administer shots to children if they resist. If parents know that their children are fearful of shots, they must be present to calm the student. NISD will NOT hold a child down.
--If you desire a shot sooner than the school district can administer it, you are invited to contact your family physician.
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Here is the Full Posting:
From Northside ISD, October 19, 2009
We wanted to update you on our plans to offer H1N1 vaccinations to Northside students. As you may have heard in the news media, the vaccine has been slow to arrive and when it has arrived it has been in smaller quantities than originally expected. San Antonio Metro Health is telling us now that there may not be sufficient quantities of the vaccine to run school-based shot clinics until November.
This timing presents a challenge as most elementary-age students (under the age of 10) will need to be given two doses of the vaccine approximately four weeks apart. While we are not certain that we will be provided with enough vaccine to offer a second dose to elementary-age children, it is our intention to do this at this time. However, because of the way the holidays fall in November and December, we may need to wait until January to begin elementary vaccinations in order to offer a second dose at the appropriate time interval.
Another issue we wanted to make you aware of deals with the form of vaccination your child will be offered. We are told by the governmental health agencies that the vaccine will come in both mist and shot form. However, the mist form is a live virus and individuals with certain chronic illnesses (e.g., asthma or diabetes) will not be allowed to take the mist vaccination. As a result, we have received a recommendation from Metro Health to request the shot form only. If you choose to have your child vaccinated in a school-based clinic and you think your child may be hesitant to take a shot, please arrange to be at the school for the vaccination. We will not force a child to take the shot if they are clearly upset. A school-by-school schedule will be published as soon as possible.
If you choose to vaccinate your children sooner than we can make it available through the schools, you should seek the vaccination from your own physician. Please know that we will only be vaccinating registered Northside ISD students at the school-based clinics. Attached to this letter are the vaccination information sheets produced by the Centers for Disease Control for your information. You should carefully read the material and consult with your family physician if you have questions.
Please know that we will update you as often as possible on the status of H1N1 vaccinations. We will pass on any additional information to you as it becomes available from the various governmental health agencies and as we are able to schedule school-based vaccination clinics.
