Flu vaccines coming for 4 area schools

BY ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Thursday, October 29, 2009
10/29/09 at 4:58 AM

H1N1 flu vaccine will be available to students and employees at three Tulsa schools and one Glenpool school next week, officials announced Wednesday.

Another 15 TPS schools are set to offer the vaccines in the near future.

"There were several criteria we looked at in selecting which schools would receive vaccines. That included kids with multiple disabilities because those (schools) would be environments where we have more medical needs, which is a high-risk category, and where we had previous incidents, such as the death," said Pam Butler, director of health services for TPS.

Vaccination dates set for next week are as follows:

9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, at Cooper Elementary School 1808 S. 123rd East Ave.

9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, at East Central High School, 12150 E. 11th St.

9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Jackson Elementary School, 2137 N. Pittsburg Ave.

Thursday, Glenpool Elementary School, 461 W. 146th Place. An exact time wasn't immediately known.

Vaccinations will only be made available to enrolled students and employees at the selected sites.

"We've had calls from parents about whether they could bring other children from the home, but only enrolled students and employees of that site are eligible. The Health Department said that is consistent with what has been done in schools in other counties," Butler said.

Other Tulsa school sites selected by the Health Department for future vaccination dates are: Academy Central, Bell, Newcomer International, Patrick Henry, Skelly and Wright elementary schools, Cleveland, Hamilton and Whitney middle schools, Edison Preparatory School, KIPP Tulsa College Preparatory, and Central, McLain, Memorial and Rogers high schools.

Butler said she also has requested a shipment of H1N1 vaccine from the state of Oklahoma because registered nurses who work in the schools could administer them. If TPS receives a shipment, more school sites could have access to the vaccine.

Melanie Christian, spokeswoman for the Tulsa City-County Health Department, said the agency received only 3,100 doses of vaccine this week. She said they don't know how many doses they will get next week.

"We have a lot more nasal spray than we do the injectable," she said. "If we get what we expect to get next week, it should be the injectable vaccine."

Students ages 9 or younger will require a second vaccination dose 28 days after the first dose. The health department does not plan on providing the second dose at the school site, so parents would be responsible for acquiring the second dose for their child, either at the Health Department or at another site.

Tulsa Public Schools officials said two consent forms are required for students and employees to receive the vaccination. They will be sent home with students prior to each vaccination date and they are available for downloading online at tulsaworld.com/tps.

Broken Arrow's Oak Crest Elementary School gave H1N1 vaccinations Wednesday, but no more are planned for the week. Union has no plans for clinics this week, and Jenks officials were unavailable for comment on upcoming clinics.

Walk-in clinic

The Tulsa Department has scheduled an H1N1 immunization clinic Thursday.

The clinic is set for 3 to 7 p.m. at Tulsa Community College’s Northeast Campus, 3737 E. Apache St.

Because of the limited supply of vaccine, the Health Department is targeting children 6 months to 18 years of age; pregnant women; front-line healthcare workers; and custodial parents of infants younger than 6 months, spokeswoman Melanie Christian said.

Staff writers Kim Archer and Clifton Adcock contributed to this story.

Andrea Eger 581-8470
andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Arianna Pruitt, 8, receives a swine flu vaccination through her right nostril at Oak Crest Elementary School in Broken Arrow on Wednesday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World

Empty swine flu vaccination containers sit on a countertop of Oak Crest Elementary School where more than 240 young people and faculty received flu shots Wednesday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World