JEFFERSON — All of Ashtabula County’s school districts have agreed to host H1N1 flu virus clinics when the vaccine becomes available, county Health Commissioner Ray Saporito said Friday.
The result will be a gigantic program involving thousands of children, Saporito said.
“It may not be unprecedented (in scope), but it will be the largest vaccination clinic we’ve undertaken,” he said.
Vaccine is expected to be ready by mid-October, and clinics could follow soon after, Saporito said. Separate H1N1 clinics will be held for other people in at-risk categories, he said.
School superintendents gave their approval to the plan at a meeting Thursday, Saporito said.
“All the schools are going to participate,” he said.
The bulk of the clinics will be held during school hours, although some districts may hold clinics after classes are dismissed, Saporito said. One or two districts are considering Saturday hours, he said.
A series of letters will be sent to parents, explaining the upcoming clinics and to announce dates when they become known, Saporito said. Participation is voluntary, and there will be no charge for the vaccine.
The county health department will coordinate clinics at schools in townships and villages. Conneaut, which has it own health department, will handle clinics in that city. Ashtabula’s health department and the county will team on clinics held in the Ashtabula district.
Some 17,000 children attend class in the seven districts within the county, Saporito said. While not all will want the vaccine, area health departments still face a staggering task.
“For our usual seasonal flu clinics, we provide between 4,000 and 4,500 doses,” Saporito said. “For the school clinics, we may need to administer 14,000 doses.”
In addition, the vaccine must be given each student twice, about three weeks apart, to be most effective, he said.
Conneaut expects to hold its H1N1 virus clinics in early November, said Sally Kennedy, health commissioner.
“We will give an update next week to the superintendent and school board,” she said.
The department also is working with local day care centers and preschool centers, Kennedy said. In addition, a few mass clinics may be held for adults in the at-risk category, she said.
Health officials will be able to create schedule once they know when the vaccine will arrive.
“It’s hard to set up a clinic when you’re not sure how much you will get and when you’ll get it,” Saporito said.
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County school districts will host H1N1 clinics
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