Flu Vaccinations in School to Commence at the Start of School Year

An annual in-school flu vaccination will commence at the start of the school year, on September 16, according to Knox News.

In addition to Knox County elementary and middle schools, the department will visit some Head Start centers, private schools and child care centers in the area. Health officials said children can be major transmitters of the flu to other people, and the clinics help keep students in class and schools open.

Since the start of the clinic, Knox County Schools has not had to close due to seasonal flu. On average over the past eight years, the Health Department has vaccinated about 45 percent of school-aged children or about 25,000 children per year.

Its FluMist program, which began in 2004, is a national model for community flu prevention. FluMist is an intra-nasal influenza vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in children as young as two years of age. Children at the vaccination clinics who are under two will receive a flu shot.

All children must have completed, signed and returned consent form from parents. The forms can be filled out online at zippslip.com/knox. Paper consent forms are available at schools or online. A schedule of vaccination clinics can also be found online.

Children under the age of nine who have not previously received the flu vaccine will need two doses, separated in time by at least one month. Phase two of the in-school flu clinics will take place on December 3 to 18. If a child misses his or her school's clinic date, parents may take the child to any Health Department location for a flu vaccine.