Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009

Georgetown parents must OK free swine flu shots

GEORGETOWN -- Students will need parental consent to receive the free H1N1 flu vaccine shots that will be administered by Georgetown County School District and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control beginning in November.

The forms and information from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control about the H1N1 swine flu were sent home to parents Tuesday, said spokesman Ray White, with the Georgetown County School District.

The consent forms must be signed by a parent or guardian and returned by Monday. Receiving the shots is optional.

The shots will be provided free to students and to employees who have underlying conditions and that might make them vulnerable, said Patti Pierce, special services coordinator with the district.

Pierce said she has been assured by DHEC that there will be plenty of vaccines available.

Since Sept. 1, DHEC has received reports of 374 flu-related hospitalizations and 11 flu-related deaths.

There will be no makeup days to receive shots for those who miss the scheduled school dates. Children who are in pre-kindergarten through third grade will need to have a parent or guardian present to receive the shot. Parents of students in other grade levels also are invited to be at the school's clinic with their child.

Children less than 10 years old need two doses of the vaccine. The second shot will be given between Thanksgiving and Christmas break. An information letter on the second vaccine will be sent at a later date, officials said.

The Georgetown County School District has posted information with statistics for influenza-like illnesses on the Web site for each school.

"We've had a few confirmed cases of H1N1. Testing has stopped. It's expensive," Dozier said. "We have some hot spots where will have a few children get sick and then it clears up and flares up somewhere else."

The numbers of absences and students being sent home does not appear to be high from Sept. 9 to Sept. 15, the latest data on the district's Web site.

Here is a look at schools with higher averages of the district's 18 grade schools for influenza-like illness symptoms:

At Rosemary High School an average of 11.2 students were absent each week and three were sent home; at Andrews High School 6.6 were absent and 3.8 were sent home; at Waccamaw Elementary School 3.6 students were absent and .2 were sent home; at Waccamaw High School 3.8 students were absent and 2.6 were sent home and at Plantersville Elementary School six students were absent and .2 were sent home.