Stop Flu at School Program to Begin in January

Flu vaccination programs are getting underway at schools. CDC photo.

Stop Flu at School, the state’s annual school-located vaccination program, will offer free flu vaccine to elementary and middle school children at public, private and charter schools statewide.

Vaccination clinics will be held in January and February 2017.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the nasal spray flu vaccine should not be used during the 2016-17 flu season because of data suggesting lower effectiveness of this vaccine.

Therefore, only the flu shot will be offered through the Stop Flu at School program.

Information packets and vaccination consent forms are currently being distributed to parents through participating schools. A fillable, electronic version of the consent form can be found online.

To sign up for the free vaccinations available to their children, parents or guardians should complete and sign the consent forms, and return them to schools by the deadline, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016.

Translated consent forms will be available online.

“Since Stop Flu at School clinics will not take place until January and February, we are encouraging parents of children, especially those with health conditions that place them at higher risk for serious complications from the flu (e.g., asthma or diabetes), to speak to their child’s physician about receiving the flu vaccine earlier,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park. “The school-located clinics are another option for children to be vaccinated.”

The Stop Flu at School program is a partnership between the Departments of Health and Education, and is made possible by the support of school administrators, healthcare providers, pediatric associations, health insurers and federal partners.

For more information about Stop Flu at School, go online or call Aloha United Way’s information and referral service at 2-1-1.