Alabama public schools to get swine flu vaccine in mid, late November

Alabama’s public schools continue to wait on swine flu vaccinations.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, plans to vaccinate Alabama public school students will be delayed until later in November. Dr. Jim McVeigh, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said that the state needs 900,000 doses of swine flu vaccine to immunize Alabama’s students. The department expected to have 600,000 doses by the end of October, but that estimate has been scaled back to 300,000.

The department of public health plans to vaccinate all public school students who consent to be vaccinated for free. The federal government is picking up the tab for the vaccinations.

Alyson Morgan, Dothan City Schools secondary curriculum supervisor, said Monday that consent forms will be sent home with students, for parents to sign, once the vaccines arrive. Morgan said students with signed consent forms who are reluctant to be vaccinated will not be compelled to get a shot.

Dothan City Schools nurses recently participated in training exercises for administering the vaccination program. Morgan has said local school nurses will serve in an administrative role in the vaccination process. The actual vaccinations will be done by teams of nurses from local doctors offices and hospitals. The vaccinations will be accomplished by a single injection.

The swine flu has had an impact on school attendance state wide. According to the Alabama Department of Public Education, absentee rates have spiked at many schools around the state, with some systems having 20 percent of their students absent on some days. Statewide, the absentee rate in September ran at about 5 to 7 percent, well above the 3.5 percent average.

Local public schools reported a spike in absences in September that many school officials have attributed to swine flu. This spike has tapered off, and absentee rates are now back to normal.

State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson said the reduction in absences shouldn’t be taken as a reason not to be vaccinated. Williamson said it’s impossible to be sure that the absent students had swine flu unless they were tested specifically for the illness. Williamson said students should err on the side of caution by getting vaccinated.