Florence School District 1 held H1N1 flu vaccination clinics Wednesday at all of its schools. All of the vaccinations were provided to the students free of charge through a partnership with the Department of Health and Environmental control.
The school district sent home parental consent forms in the last week of October but received a less than desirable response from parents wanting their children vaccinated.
“Florence 1 has more than 15,000 students, yet only one-third of the parents have provided consent for their children to be vaccinated,” said district superintendent Larry Jackson via a press release. In an effort to remind parents of the flu shot clinics, the district sent home another reminder at the end of last week.
“Our goal is not to overemphasize the availability of the vaccine, but simply to make parents who are not aware of the school clinics that they simply have an opportunity to have their children vaccinated in schools on Wednesday free of charge,” Jackson said.
Theodore Lester Elementary School, in Florence, had 135 students out of 450 take advantage of the flu shot clinic. School principal Dr. Gregory Mingo said he thinks (the clinics) are a positive thing and that it is a way to reach many children who would not otherwise have been taken to get vaccinated. “It’s a good thing,” Mingo said.

Advertisement