Swine flu vaccine coming to 9 area high schools

Doses will be administered after classes at nine county schools starting Dec. 1. The free vaccine will be available to residents who fall in one or more of the priority groups identified by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We partnered with the schools to make sure all parts of the county were covered," said Elin Jones, spokeswoman for the county Health Department. "Since we began offering the clinics, we heard from many parents who indicated they wanted to see a clinic that was centrally located."

The clinics will start Dec. 1 at Chesapeake, South River and Broadneck high schools; on Dec. 2 at Northeast, Old Mill and Annapolis high schools; and on Dec. 3 at Arundel, North County and Southern high schools.

Jones said she doesn't know how many vaccine doses will be given out at these clinics.

"Definitely hundreds, but we expect to have some more shipments coming in," she said.

Clinics will be held based on the availability of vaccine. There will be no make-up dates if the clinic is canceled for any reason.

Hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. No one will be allowed to line up for the vaccine before 3 p.m. to allow room for buses entering the schools' parking lots, Jones said.

"We've been working with the Health Department and said all along that once we had enough vaccine available, we wanted to hold clinics at the schools," said Maneka Monk, county schools spokeswoman. "They're a great central location, convenient to the whole community."

She said the county chose those high schools because they had the space to accommodate heavy crowds and lots of cars.

Monk emphasized the vaccine is not just for students.

"I think there's a misconception that this is something that's only for the schools. This is for the public," she said.

Jones said the county has given out about 7,000 doses of swine flu vaccine. About 55 percent of the vaccine has been given out to residents ages 2 through 24 years old, she said.

That includes children in day care programs, elementary, middle and high school students and some college students, she said.

"A lot of young people have come to the clinics, but because of the demand, not everyone who wanted it could get it," Jones said.

The target groups include pregnant women, people between 6 months and 24 years old, people who live with or care for children under 6 months of age, health care and emergency medical services personnel and people ages 25 to 64 who have chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

The county got its first batch of swine flu vaccine in October, but the immunization has been scarce even for those in the priority groups.

Officials with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said earlier this month that most of the vaccine is going to doctors and other private health care providers. But area doctors said they still don't have enough to meet patients' demands.

Karen Black, department spokeswoman, said the state has received 983,400 doses of the vaccine so far.

Thirty people in Maryland have died of H1N1-related complications, though the number of flu cases seems to have peaked, state officials said.

Still, demand for the vaccine is not waning, Black said.

"We have 2.9 million residents who fall into a priority group, so we are still short," she said. "We're always hopeful we'll have enough vaccine to meet demand."