Elementary students will receive the first batch of shots from the school district.

Schools offer swine flu shots

District coordinates series of clinics

by Anna B. Mitchell

Published: Nov. 9, 2009, 8:51 a.m.

Young children who attend public schools in Greenville County are able to get a free swine-flu vaccine at several sites in the evenings through next Tuesday.

The vaccine is available only for children in 3-year-old Kindergarten through fifth grade because these younger children are at greater risk of infection, a letter to parents said. The school system is working with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to provide the vaccine, and spokeswoman Susan Clarke said more vaccines for older students might be offered at a later date.

The shot is not available to parents or older siblings.

The vaccines begin tomorrow, Nov. 10 at Armstrong Elementary School from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Parents can bring their children to Taylors Elementary on Thursday, Nov. 12,  Mauldin Elementary on Friday, Nov. 13, Plain Elementary on Monday, Nov. 16, and Sara Collins Elementary on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Every elementary school in the county has been assigned a vaccine-clinic site, but parents who can’t make it on a particular day are free to bring their child to a clinic on another day, Clarke said.

“These clinics are pending availability of H1N1 flu vaccine,” the Nov. 6 letter said. “Supply of H1N1 flu vaccine will be limited.”

Vaccination clinics for younger children will also be held at the Greenville County Health Department, 200 University Ridge, Greenville, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

To get the shot, parents must fill out a consent form at the clinic site, and a parent must stand by the child. A second vaccine is required for anyone 10 or younger in about a month. A schedule for those vaccines will be available later.

The Centers for Disease Control has reported the swine flu, also known as the 2009 H1N1 virus, is very different from seasonal flu because it is a completely new strain and most people have little or no immunity to it.

The CDC recommends vaccinations start with pregnant women, then people who live with or care for babies 6 months old and younger, then health care workers, anyone ages 6 months to 24 years old, and then anyone 25 to 64 years old who has a chronic health condition or weakened immune system.

Anyone with questions about the vaccine should contact a doctor or the county health department at 282-4100.

School assignments:

Schools Assigned to Armstrong Elementary Clinic
Tuesday, November 10
Armstrong, Slater-Marietta, Welcome, Berea, Duncan Chapel, Cherrydale, Northwest Crescent CDC, Heritage, Monaview, Westcliffe, Alexander, Hollis, Gateway

Schools Assigned to Taylors Elementary Clinic
Thursday, November 12
Taylors, Woodland, Mitchell Road, Lake Forest, Buena Vista, Brushy Creek, Brook Glenn, Paris, Dunbar CDC, Chandler Creek, Crestview, Skyland, Tigerville, Mountain View

Schools Assigned to Mauldin Elementary Clinic
Friday, November 13
Mauldin, Bethel, Oakview, Bell’s Crossing, Rudolph Gordon, Greenbrier, Robert Cashion

Schools Assigned to Plain Elementary Clinic
Monday, November 16
Plain, Simpsonville, Sue Cleveland, Ellen Woodside, Riley CDC, Fork Shoals, Bryson, Golden Strip CDC, Fountain Inn

Schools Assigned to Sara Collins Elementary Clinic
Tuesday, November 17
Sara Collins, Pelham Road, East North Street, Washington Center, Sterling, Blythe, Augusta Circle, Overbrook CDC, Greenview CDC, Thomas Kerns, Stone, Grove, Summit Drive

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