photo by Laura Johnson

It tickles: Bailee Baird, a Jim Pearson Elementary School student, takes a nasal H1N1 vaccination during a school clinic.

Schools hold H1N1 clinics

By Laura Johnson | Alex City Outlook

Published Friday, December 4, 2009

About 125 students from the Alexander City School System received H1N1 nasal vaccinations from health department officials at clinics at Stephens and Jim Pearson elementary schools on Friday.

State health and education officials have been planning the clinics for months and began offering them to students in schools across Alabama on Nov. 30. The clinics opened in Tallapoosa County earlier this week when Tallapoosa County Health Department officials began administering the nasal vaccinations to students in first though fourth grades in the county schools.

“We just had to make sure we had enough nurses to schedule it,” health department nurse supervisor Debbie Thompson said. “We haven’t had any problems.”

Children in the county school system only had to have written parental consent to take the vaccine, but parents of children in Alexander City had to provide written consent and accompany their children to the clinic.

“This school system has been super cautious in making sure parents are aware,” said Karen Bennefield, a registered nurse with the Alabama Department of Health, who has administered the vaccine to students in several school systems.

The clinics offered this week are the first of two to be offered at public schools in Alabama by the health department. Only students in kindergarten though fourth grade, who are required to take two rounds of the vaccine, received them Friday.

The first vaccination is considered to be a booster dosage to prepare students for the next round, which will be held in January. Students in grades five though 12 will be able to take the vaccine at that time. Children under 9 will again receive the vaccine through a nasal dosage, though the older students will receive the vaccine in a shot.

The health department received enough nasal vaccines to treat each child in Kindergarten through fourth grade in the county school system, but only 20 took it.

“We were hoping there would be more,” Thompson said. “I think the reason the turnout has been light is because we are not seeing as much of the disease in our area.”

Participation in Alexander City schools was not strong, but because of low turnout in the county school system, it came as no surprise according to Jim Pearson school nurse, Charity Spann.

“It was about what we expected,” Spann said. “We had some this morning who had planned to take the vaccine, but called this morning and said they would not be taking it and some showed up today with their papers in hand that we had not anticipated.”

One area parent, Tesha Oliver, said she was glad she chose to have her daughter participate in the clinic, though the majority of parents did not.

“She has been sick all year and I want to see if this will help her from getting sicker,” Oliver said.

She accompanied her daughter, Bailee Baird, at the clinic held inside the gym at Jim Pearson on Friday. Bailee said she didn’t mind the nasal vaccine so much although she was initially scared to take it.

“It tastes funny,” said Bailee, who described the sensation as a “tickle.”

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