News Release
For Immediate Release: October 27, 2009
Contact Person: Diane Lee, PIO, 301-334-7730
H1N1 Vaccinations Scheduled in Garrett County Schools
Garrett County Health Department, in partnership with the Garrett County Board of Education, is offering free H1N1vaccine programs at all the elementary, middle, and high schools. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that children and young adults aged 6 months through 24 years be vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 as soon as the vaccine is available.
Children in the elementary schools will be provided intranasal vaccine, if medically eligible. Those children who are not medically eligible will need to obtain injectable vaccine (a shot) , either at their health care provider's office or at the local health department's community clinics. These children could get the injectable vaccine at the H1N1 clinic for high risk groups scheduled at the Grantsville Health Department location on Saturday, October 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (See separate article for other specific priority groups.)
Children under the age of ten years of age are expected to need a second dose of vaccine about a month after the first to build up adequate immunity.
Children in the middle and high schools will be provided injectable vaccine (a shot) if medically eligible.
If vaccine is received as expected, clinics will be held on the following days:
- November 2: Bloomington , Kitzmiller and Swan Meadow
- November 3: Yough Glades
- November 4: Broad Ford
- November 6: Dennett Road
- November 9: Accident, Friendsville, and Crellin
- November 10: Route 40 and Grantsville
- November 12: Garrett College
- November 16: Northern Middle
- November 17: Southern Middle
- November 18: Northern High
- November 20: Southern High
Other groups recommended to get the first available doses of the vaccine include:
- Pregnant women
- People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
- Health care and emergency medical services workers, and
- People ages 25 through 64 years who have certain health conditions such as HIV, diabetes, or heart or lung disease.
Consent forms were sent home with students several weeks ago. Forms can also be printed from www.garretthealth.org . Parents who want to have their child vaccinated at the school clinic should: 1) Fill out all sections of the consent form; 2) Return the consent to your child's teacher as soon as possible. Consents with missing information will be rejected and the child will not receive H1N1 vaccine at the clinic that day.
The CDC recommends that most people on the list for receiving 2009 H1N1 vaccination should get the vaccination whether or not they had a flu-like illness earlier in the year. The symptoms of the flu are similar to those caused by many other viruses. Even when flu viruses are causing large numbers of people to get sick, other viruses are also causing illnesses. Only specific lab testing can determine if an illness is caused by a specific flu strain or by some other virus. This test is different from rapid flu tests doctors can do in their offices. Since most people with flu-like illnesses will not be lab tested, they will not know whether they have been infected with 2009 H1N1 flu or a different virus.
For that reason, if you were sick but do not know if you had 2009 H1N1 infection, you should get vaccinated if it is recommended by your doctor. If you have had 2009 H1N1 flu confirmed by a lab test, your body should have some immunity against 2009 H1N1 flu and you can choose not to get the 2009 H1N1 vaccine. However, vaccination of a person with some existing immunity to the 2009 H1N1 virus will not be harmful.
If you have any questions about the vaccine or the vaccination clinics, please call 301-334-7697 or visit www.garretthealth.org for up to date information.
Please visit the CDC's 2009 H1N1 influenza web site at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ and also http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/parents for information especially for parents. Your child's health care provider can answer your questions about the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, will be able to give your child the seasonal influenza vaccine, and may be able to give your child the 2009 H1N1 vaccine.