Oct 29, 2009 6:10 am US/Eastern
H1N1 Vaccinations Begin In New York City Schools
Reporting
Lou Young
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
The needles were out in City elementary schools Wednesday, as the H1N1 vaccine program designed to nip the so-called swine flu in the bud this season began. The Department of Education trotted out a couple of young volunteers to demonstrate that it's nothing to be afraid of.
Student Jessica Osorio, 9, said said the kids are a little worried about it. "They're saying they might be scared when they get the shot." She said she wasn't scared and that the vaccine did not hurt.
Jessica's school was one of 53 in Brooklyn to begin vaccinations. There's another 25 in the Bronx, 22 in Queens, 20 in Manhattan and eight on Staten Island.
And it's just the beginning of a plan to get upwards of 60 percent of the student body immunized. The 128 schools involved in phase one will be joined by 77 more next Wednesday, with 559 the following week.
That's a lot of schools, and when you add in the clinics they'll be opening for middle and high schools students and all the other target groups for the flu vaccine, you have to wonder if they're going to have enough vaccine.
And the answer is: they hope so. "We will have enough as the vaccine arrives over time for everyone for whom it is recommend," said the NYC Health Commisioner Dr. Thomas A. Farley.
It appears the big problem is to convince parents the medicine is safe. Fewer than a third of the students at P.S. 157 were approved to receive it.
And at P.S. 191 in Manhattan, many parents said they're either waiting and passing on the offer.
"I don't know," said mother Jasime Cruz.
"No, not yet. Until I find out a little more information, I'm not going to try and make my kids guinea pigs," said mother Angela Gomez.
Every student in the system has been sent home with a consent form for the swine flu vaccine. They are also available online in 10 languages.
The City's target is to have 60-percent of the student body immunized, but so far the schools achieved a vaccination rate half that.
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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