Oct 28, 2009 9:18 am US/Eastern
H1N1 Vaccine Available At NYC Elementary Schools
Voluntary Swine Flu Vaccine Available At 128 City Elementary Schools
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Nasal spray doses of the H1N1/swine flu vaccine are shown at Montefiore Medical Center on Oct. 6, 2009, in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Students at 128 New York City elementary schools are getting vaccinated against swine flu. It's the first phase of the city's drive to make the vaccine available to all school-age children.
The city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, said there are 40,000 doses set aside for the first wave of schools.
School nurses at those sites will administer the nasal spray vaccine starting Wednesday to students whose parents have signed consent forms. Nurses expect to vaccinate 15 to 25 kids per day, per school.
Officials do not yet know what percentage of parents citywide have signed the forms.
Parents like Marilyn Diamond are all for it.
"I don't think it's more dangerous than the flu that's already around, but I think it's a good idea to get vaccinated," she said.
Larger elementary schools will be added next week and then more the week after that, with middle and high school students being handled in weekend clinics that start mid-November. The reason for the staggered schedule is that the city is waiting for more doses of the vaccine, and they just don't want to run out once they begin.
"The last thing we wanted to do was actually schedule one of these large clinics and then have to postpone it. So the decision of when to start these clinics was to, in part, ensure that we had sufficient vaccines on hand to start as scheduled," said Dr. Jane Zucker of the New York City Health Department.
City health officials are hoping 60 percent of students get the vaccine, but some parents aren't on board.
"I understand the public health benefits but then I also hear a lot of people who are a little suspicious of the vaccines and they don't want to do it and I think that has to be respected. I'm not going to do it," said Susan Gracini.
Vaccine allocations from the Centers for Disease Control are changing almost daily. Experts say, though, that by January, New York City should have a surplus of dosages.
Q&A: What Is Swine Flu?
Flu.gov: Know What To Do
CDC H1N1 Flu Info Guide
Learn At Home Student Guides
NYC.gov Swine Flu Information Guides
CBS News Interactive: Fighting The Flu
H1N1 Vaccine Info For NYC Schoolchildren
Call NY's H1N1 Hotline: 1-800-808-1987
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