The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) today announces the preliminary schedule for H1N1 vaccination clinics in public, private and parochial schools in Rhode Island. The vaccination clinics are scheduled to begin on Monday, November 2 and will run for six weeks. The selection of school order for clinics was randomly generated by a computer algorithm.
“Our goal remains to vaccinate as many school-aged children as possible in the shortest period of time,” said Director of Health David R. Gifford, MD. MPH. “School-based clinics are the most efficient and effective way to achieve this goal. We encourage all parents to have their children vaccinated in school. If parents decline to have their children vaccinated in school, they should be aware that pediatricians will not have H1N1 vaccine for school-aged children until late December or after the new year.”
Preschool-aged children, including children in pre-K and private kindergartens, will get vaccinated in physician offices, not in school clinics.
This week, letters and consent forms were mailed and distributed to student homes. In some cases, schools opted to send consent forms home with students. The consent form must be completed and returned to the school prior to the clinic. (Consent forms should not be returned to HEALTH.) No vaccination will be given to a student without a consent form. To download a consent form in English or Spanish, visit http://www.health.ri.gov/flu/about/schoolh1n1clinics/.
“I wish we could do this quicker, but the clinic schedule has been created based on current vaccine availability,” said Gifford. “We have designed this schedule to be flexible and adaptable to any changes in vaccine distribution or snow days.”
This draft schedule can be searched by town, date or school and is subject to change. Parents and students are encouraged to check HEALTH’s website regularly for any updates to the clinic schedule. For school officials to report a school that is missing from the list, call HEALTH’s H1N1 Hotline at 401-222-8022.
Receiving H1N1 vaccine at school-based clinics is voluntary. Secondary school (middle school and high school) students will be vaccinated at clinics taking place during the school day. Clinics for elementary school students will be run in the afternoon and evening. To view the school clinic schedule, visit http://www.health.ri.gov/flu/about/schoolh1n1clinics/. For a list of frequently asked questions, visit http://www.health.ri.gov/news/H1N1Advisories/FrequentlyAskedQuestionsAboutTheSchoolBasedVaccinationProgramAndSchedule.pdf.