Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Area's children start to feel pinch of H1N1 shot

ANDREWS -- Andrews Elementary School is the first school in the Georgetown County School District and the local area to begin giving the H1N1 flu vaccine to students.

Horry County schools will begin giving students vaccines next week. Students in Brunswick County, N.C., started receiving them last month.

Clinics run by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control appeared to go smoothly in Georgetown County on Monday, officials said.

Georgetown County School District spokesman Ray White said 203 students were given free shots to ward against the H1N1 flu. Andrews Elementary School has about 855 students and is one of the largest elementary schools in the district.

White said 89 parents retracted their original consents, opting instead to have their children forgo the vaccine.

Most parents were worried about the safety of vaccine and whether it was a good idea, said Laura Tucker, lead nurse for the school district.

"We tell them it's their decision and the data we go by is from DHEC and the [Centers for Disease Control]," Tucker said.

The CDC expects the H1N1 vaccine to be as safe as the seasonal flu vaccines, which have a good safety track record, according to the CDC's Web site.

Andrews Elementary School student Taylor Lambert, 9, balked at the idea of getting the shot originally.

"I thought it was going to hurt. And, I heard that it could kill you," Taylor said. Her mother, Kim Morris, said she encouraged her daughter to get the shot and waited about an hour.

"She worked herself up and she said she wasn't going to take it. I think she really thought she would get sick," Morris said.

Taylor got through the shot and said she barely felt it.

The CDC has addressed concerns about the safety of the vaccination on its Web site.

In 1976, there was a small risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disease that causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis following swine flu vaccinations, according to the CDC.

The CDC Web site also informs the public about the preservative called thimerosal found in multidose injections of the H1N1 vaccine and concerns about its relationship to autism. Numerous studies have found no association between thimerosal exposure and autism, according to the CDC.

The vaccine is being tested in adults, children and pregnant women for safety and effectiveness and the studies show that no serious harmful effects have been reported, according to the American Association for Pediatrics.

Doctors and health providers are required to report any adverse affects to the vaccine and any other vaccine in the nation to the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

April Maglich's 10-year-old son came down with an influenzalike illness and was treated with Tamiflu for five days, but has not fully recovered. He missed school for three weeks and continues to feel weak.

Maglich encouraged her son to get the vaccine. "I'd rather take the chance, and get some [protection] for him now," she said. "I think it's wonderful they are doing this in the schools."

Parents were required to be with their children who are in pre-K to third grade when they got the shot.

Children younger than 10 need two doses of the vaccine in the next 21 days to four weeks. Another consent form will be sent to parents for the second shot.

DHEC will continue to host the clinics this week at the district's elementary schools and intermediate schools. A lack of availability of the vaccine has forced DHEC to postpone administering the shots at middle schools and high schools.

The Georgetown area schools' clinics run from about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Today, DHEC will offer the injections at Kensington Elementary School, Maryville Elementary School, McDonald Elementary School and Sampit Elementary School.

DHEC will be at Browns Ferry Elementary School, Pleasant Hill Elementary School and Plantersville Elementary School on Wednesday and at Waccamaw Elementary School and Waccamaw Intermediate School on Thursday, said spokesman Ray White.

Students in Horry County schools will begin receiving the vaccine on Nov. 9, beginning with elementary schools. Officials hope to provide the shot to all students if enough vaccine is available. The clinics in Horry County schools will run from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In Brunswick County, officials started giving the vaccine the week of Oct. 19 but ran out after administering to one elementary school, said Reeda Hargrove, director of student support services for Brunswick County Schools. They expect to resume administering the shots when more vaccine is available.

Pregnant women, people ages 6 months to 24, health care and emergency medical services personnel, and adults with chronic medical conditions should get vaccinated, according to DHEC recommendations.

Doctor's offices, hospitals and clinics also have ordered the vaccine.