Oct 6, 2009 6:10 am US/Eastern
Flu Vaccinations Underway For NYC Children
Week-Long Pilot Program Aimed At Formulating H1N1 Vaccination Plan
Many Parents Still Very Concerned About Swine Flu Shots For Children
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The first swine flu vaccines arrived Monday as health experts began a full-court press to de-mystify the new medicine. Several separate strains are expected to kill thousands this flu season, and many students in New York City were the first to get vaccinated.
A classroom at PS 40 in Brooklyn is one of six in the city turned into a makeshift clinic on Monday as part of the plan to get kids, parents, and professionals used to the coming swine flu vaccine blitz.
It's been a tough sell for students and parents alike. Children, of course, aren't looking forward to two rounds of shots, and many parents are concerned about the swine flu vaccine.
The seasonal dose is being offered now, and the newly licensed H1N1 vaccine, which is the centerpiece of the federal government's national program, is just arriving in the area. Experts say we need them both.
Next year I would expect if we still see H1N1 as prevalent that they will roll that into part of the seasonal flu [vaccine]," said Nassau Co. Emergency Health Director Eileen Scanlon.
The first 1,000 doses of the new swine flu vaccine showed up at an undisclosed location in Nassau County Monday afternoon in the form of nasal vaccines. The shipment is destined for pediatric healthcare professionals. Additional shipments are in route and the first flu shots should be here in about two weeks.
The vaccine is being encouraged for all children over 6-months, but CBS 2 found parents skeptical of the need.
"I don't want to give her swine flu to prevent swine flu," said Aja Valentine, whose daughter attends a city elementary school.
"We're told that it's safe, but five years down the line there could be something else that crops up," said parent Judith Mamigault.
"Sometimes I think the whole thing is so hyped I just get annoyed at it all," said parent Sally Caswell, who said she might not have her child vaccinated.
So the big sell is on for Nassau County's health care volunteers and for elderly residents of the Bronx, and in the New York City schools, telling people that getting the shot is safer than not.
"We've heard everybody's concerns and all I can say is it's the same process going through the seasonal flu vaccine, the same manufacturers, the same testing, it's all the same for H1N1 vaccine as the seasonal flu vaccine," said Nassau Co. Health Commissioner Dr. Maria Carney.
In a way it's a kind of simple race between the viruses themselves and the health officials trying to allay the fears and get the inoculation numbers up high enough to slow down the spread of the flu this coming season.
Even though the H1N1 shots have arrived, swine flu vaccinations at school are still weeks away.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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