SAN ANTONIO -- Thousands of letters are going home with students and what they say in them could affect your child's health this flu season.
Most school districts didn't expect to vaccinate students until the beginning of next year because the H1N1 vaccine was slow in coming to our area.
But this week the health department told them they would be getting small batches of the shot weekly. This encouraged districts like Northside ISD to get moving on a plan that would get the shots to their students quickly.
District spokesman Pascual Gonzalez says, “We're starting off with middle school kids who don't need a second shot. Elementary age children need two shots. And there's no way we can get those shots done before Christmas."
If your child is eligible for the vaccine on this first round you'll need to sign a permission slip. No school district News 4 WOAI contacted is making this mandatory for its students. And if they miss their shot day, there won't be any make-ups.
Call your school district for more details.
NISD announces schedule for H1N1 vaccines for Dec. 3-11
From NISD:
On Dec. 3, 2009, Northside ISD will begin vaccinating students against the H1N1 flu. Only those students whose parents provide permission will be vaccinated and only registered Northside students will be eligible. The vaccine is provided to qualified students at no cost. NISD has received assurances from the Metro Health Department that sufficient vaccine will be on hand, but parents should remain flexible should it not be available.
NISD will begin with middle school students. Scheduling elementary students presented 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, a process that could not be completed before the Winter Break.
Parents will receive a letter and permission slip to sign if they want their child to be vaccinated. Parents may call their school to find out the specific time that their child will be scheduled if they are planning to be there. Permission slips MUST be returned to the school according to the schedule below.
If the children miss the scheduled vaccination date at the school because of a missing permission slip or are absent, parents will need to make arrangements with their own family physician or attend a public vaccination clinic. Students will not be rescheduled.
● Children with severe asthma WILL NOT be vaccinated unless NISD is provided written permission from the child’s physician.
● Children who are reluctant to be vaccinated (i.e., crying, kicking, screaming) WILL NOT be restrained, and thus will not receive the immunization.
● Children who are absent on the day that the vaccinations are provided WILL NOT be given an alternate date or location for vaccination.
● ONLY children registered as NISD students at the particular location will be vaccinated.
● Children without completed and signed permission slips WILL NOT be vaccinated.
The schedule for Dec. 3-11 is as follows:
School Vaccination Date Permission Slip Due Date
Ross & Neff December 3, 2009 December 2, 2009
Rudder & Rawlinson December 4, 2009 December 2, 2009
Jones & Pease December 7, 2009 December 2, 2009
Luna & Zachry December 8, 2009 December 3, 2009
Jordan & Vale December 9, 2009 December 4, 2009
Stevenson & Stinson December 10, 2009 December 7, 2009
Rayburn & Jefferson December 11, 2009 December 8, 2009
The vaccination schedule will resume after the Winter Break on January 7. That schedule will be posted in December.
Schedules will be published a week prior to vaccinations. The school-based vaccinations could take up to three months to complete all schools. NISD has 91,578 students in 104 schools. Not all students will receive the vaccination. Parents who wish to get their children vaccinated sooner than NISD can schedule should check with their own family physician or check with Metro Health for public vaccination clinics.
For more information and updated schedules, continue to monitor the web site at
http://www.nisd.net/healthservices/h1n1/ or by calling the District’s Information Line at 397-INFO.
