Schools offer free seasonal flu shots for Wake students

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Flu shots offered to students

Wake County schoolchildren will have an extra chance at fighting the flu bug this fall when free vaccines are given at area high schools.

County commissioners accepted nearly $300,000 in federal stimulus money Sept. 8 to pay for the program. The shots will help fight the seasonal flu, said Regina Petteway, director of the Wake County Human Services Office of Community Affairs.

A separate vaccine is being developed to fight the H1N1 virus, and could be added to the program if it becomes available.

Flu shots offered to Wake students

Wake County schoolchildren will have an extra chance at fighting the flu bug this fall when free vaccines are given at area high schools.

County commissioners on Tuesday accepted nearly $300,000 in federal stimulus money to pay for the program. The shots will help fight the seasonal flu, said Regina Petteway, director of the Wake County Human Services Office of Community Affairs. A separate vaccine is being developed to fight the H1N1 virus and could be added to the program if it becomes available.

Children in kindergarten through 12th grade will be eligible for the vaccine, Petteway said. Students do not need to be enrolled in Wake County public schools to receive the shot.

School officials fear H1N1 virus

As schools and colleges prepare to welcome students back into session this month, they face an unpredictable yet unavoidable disruption -- pandemic flu.

The H1N1 virus has been circulating all summer, shutting down overnight camps and keeping doctors' offices busy. Now health officials are bracing for an even bigger spread of the novel virus as students of all ages congregate in the close quarters of buses, classrooms, dorms and cafeterias.

Complicating matters is the lag between the start of school and the anticipated October delivery date for the first, limited batch of vaccine.

5 Wake clinics to offer H1N1 vaccine

The largest delivery yet of H1N1 vaccine to Wake County will enable area health clinics to run five vaccination programs starting Monday.

The vaccination clinics will start at 9 a.m. in Raleigh, Fuquay-Varina, Wake Forest and Zebulon. A clinic in Cary will open at 10 a.m.

All will run while supplies last, offering both injectable and nasal mist forms of the vaccine.

Flu shots in demand

Unusually early demand for seasonal flu shots has strained supplies at doctors' offices, but public health clinics and pharmacies report ample amounts available for the normal fall vaccination campaigns getting under way.

Spot shortages have occurred primarily because everyone is rushing to be first in line for shots -- a phenomenon that pleases public health officials whose annual prevention advice often goes unheeded.

"We're glad people are showing interest early this year," said Dr. Peter Morris, medical director of Wake County Human Services. "It's an urban myth that early vaccinations won't protect you through the end of the season. It protects all season long."