January 8, 2010 – Knox County Health Department (KCHD) will begin the second phase H1N1 vaccinations in the Knox County Schools beginning Monday, Jan. 11. Children under 10 who have already received a H1N1 vaccine need a second dose to gain full immunity. Click here to view a full school clinic schedule in PDF format.
During Phase 1 last fall, more than 16,000 children were vaccinated against H1N1 flu. Knox County Health Department recommends vaccinating your child even if you think he or she may have had H1N1 flu (physician in-office rapid tests aren’t always accurate). Vaccination will ensure they are protected. KCHD also offers the following information for parents:
1) During Phase 2, KCHD also will provide a first dose to any child who has not yet been vaccinated. Parents can get a consent form at www.knoxcounty.org/flu or at their child’s school. Completed consent forms will be accepted at school up to the day of the child’s in-school clinic.
2) The first dose and second dose of vaccine must be separated by at least 21 days. Children who received their first dose less than 21 days ago can get their follow up vaccine free at any KCHD location when the allotted time has passed.
3) A child who has taken Tamiflu or Relenza must be off the medication for 48 hours before receiving an intranasal dose of H1N1. If your child has taken either of these medications within 48 hours of his or her school’s vaccination clinic, please send a note to the school office the day before the scheduled clinic so that Knox County Health Department can pull their consent form. Your child will not be vaccinated during the school clinic.
4) H1N1 vaccine is now available and free at any KCHD location to everyone who wants to be immunized.
Knox County’s in-school flu vaccination program, which began in 2004, is a national model for community flu prevention campaigns. Evidence supports vaccinating children as a way to protect the entire community from influenza. Each fall, Knox County public health professionals vaccinate an average of more than 28,000 school children with FluMist during a four-week period. In 2008, Head Start students and child care enrollees were added.
Additional information, consent forms and the full school clinic schedule also can be found at www.knoxcounty.org/flu. More information on H1N1 is available at www.flu.gov or by calling 211 or the Tennessee Department of Health Flu Information Line at 1-877-252-3432.
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