Seward Children Get Their Swine Flu Shots

Posted on: November 18, 2009 | musiclover | Comments Off | Print Article | Rate Post:

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By Heidi Zemach for SCN

About 182 pre-school and elementary school students bravely got their H1N1 “Swine Flu” inoculations at Seward Elementary School library Wednesday morning, with the help of 20 volunteers. The volunteers included nurses, a physician, EMT, and parents and community members.

The pre-school and kindergarteners were probably the bravest ones, with the nervousness level rising in each of the increasing grades. But with only a few exceptions, most of the children took their shots or nasal spray doses with little or no apprehension.

A line of Kindergartners stood waiting in the hallway, clearly proud of themselves for not crying or flinching, showing one another their pretty bandages. Some parents chose to accompany their children to get their shots. Only a few of the older children wailed, or tried to resist. Mostly, the process went so quickly that the students had little time to react before it was over.

Volunteers were assigned a variety of tasks including greeting the students, checking their paperwork, giving the shots, holding children on their laps and preventing them from squirming or pulling away, reading stories to those waiting their turn, or leading them to the correct stations or classrooms.

“It went really well,” concluded Public Health Nurse Lois Daubney at the clinic’s conclusion. The fact that the group had vaccinated so many children in about two and a half hours was testament to the help of volunteers, and nurses who did a lot of work paving the way, organizing consent forms and everything else, she said.

Thursday, most volunteers planned to repeat the process at the middle school and high school, where 93 students have received their parent’s permission to get the H1N1 vaccine.

Children under age 10 will receive their second dose in another school clinic in early January. H1N1 clinics are planned for AVTEC Students and community members January 19th.
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