Thousands of Minnesota school kids may be able to get their H1N1 flu shots at school starting in mid- to late November, health officials said Tuesday.
This is the first time in decades that schools have been asked to play a part in a mass vaccination program.
State and local agencies are making plans to hold dozens of flu shot clinics in schools throughout the Twin Cities, starting the week of Nov. 16.
Plans are still in flux, and some say the clinics may not start until December if the vaccine is still in short supply.
The plan is to provide the vaccines first to children 9 and younger, then expand to all school-age children, said Kris Ehresmann of the Minnesota Department of Health.
Only children who bring signed consent forms will be given the vaccines. Many parents have had a hard time finding the H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine because it's been reserved for the most vulnerable groups, such as health workers, pregnant women and kids with underlying health problems.
But Ehresmann said that healthy kids are the next priority group, and that's why state and local health officials have been asked to start gearing up for the school clinics.
Scott County, for example, is planning to set up its first flu-shot clinics in elementary schools during school hours Nov. 17 to 19, using gymnasiums or other large spaces. Some Minneapolis elementary schools are expected to open clinics that same week, officials say.