Officials urge flu vaccines for keiki

Share this story

With Hawaii Island students once again crowded into classrooms, state Department of Health officials are asking parents to vaccinate their kids for the flu before the season gets into full swing. ADVERTISING With Hawaii Island students once again crowded into

With Hawaii Island students once again crowded into classrooms, state Department of Health officials are asking parents to vaccinate their kids for the flu before the season gets into full swing.

ADVERTISING

For the past nine years, the Stop Flu at School program has helped to spread that message, and in that time about half a million keiki across the state have been vaccinated. Each year, about 65,000 Hawaii kids are vaccinated against the influenza.

“We are immensely proud of this program, which is the only one of its kind in the nation, in providing free flu vaccinations to elementary and middle school children in more than 300 public, private and charter schools statewide,” said Dr. Virginia Pressler, director of the state Department of Health, at a special ceremony in Honolulu this week, commemorating the 500,000 vaccinations milestone. “Counties in other states have conducted similar programs, but we are the only one to provide this service statewide.”

Also in attendance at that event were Hawaii first lady Dawn Ige and state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park.

Ige cited the Stop Flu at School program as the “single most effective way to protect our keiki, our schools and communities from the flu. It’s free and it’s easy, and I encourage parents to ensure their children are protected.”

In an interview Thursday, Park explained that the impact of the Stop Flu at School program is twofold.

“The most obvious thing is, it increases the coverage among our population and protects our population. Our goal is to get 50 percent of (the middle and elementary school) age group. We know we can’t cover 100 percent of it with a program like this,” she said.

Alternatively, Park said, “some parents may be reluctant to have their kids go through this program, and would rather go straight to the doctor, but then this would serve as a reminder, hopefully, and certainly our pediatrician colleagues have noticed that as well. In the beginning, we thought if we did this program they (pediatricians) are not going to see as much of a demand in their offices, and in fact they’ve seen the opposite. When we have this program going on, suddenly parents are reminded, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta call the pediatrician and make sure I make an appointment for the flu vaccination.’ …

“Our program, therefore, has served directly and indirectly to increase uptake in this age population and that’s why if you look at the national numbers, our flu vaccination rate, especially for this age group, is well beyond 50 percent.”

During the 2013-14 flu season, about 76 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 12 had been vaccinated for influenza by April 2014, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Information packets and vaccination consent forms are being distributed to parents through participating schools. Parents choosing to have their children vaccinated through the Stop Flu at School program must complete the vaccination consent forms and return them to school by Friday, Sept. 4.

Parents also have the option of completing the consent form online. To access the online consent form, visit vaxonlinereg.doh.hawaii.gov.

Consent forms completed online must be printed, signed and dated, then returned to school by the Sept. 4 deadline.

For more information about the Stop Flu at School program and to download translated consent forms, visit health.hawaii.gov/docd/flu-hawaii/stop-flu-at-school or call Aloha United Way’s information and referral service at 211 for assistance.

This year’s vaccination clinics will be held in October and November. Here is the list of participating schools on the Big Island, and their clinic dates: