This fall influenza vaccines will be made available at no charge for all elementary and primary school students in Buncombe County, Asheville City, and area charter schools who return a parent consent form. Vaccinations will be offered as an injection or a nasal spray. The Buncombe County Health Center believes this important initiative will help decrease the spread of flu among Buncombe County’s school children, families, and communities.
Vaccines will be given to students beginning the end of September or early October. A schedule of schools will be announced, and nurses hired by the health center will travel to each location to provide the vaccines. Parents should be watching now for complete information from the school about the campaign, including consent forms.
Research tells us that school children have an extremely high incidence of flu, exceeding 10% most years. Children are also one of the primary sources of flu transmission in the community, often infecting older adults and others who are at high risk from flu. By providing protection for children, we expect to also provide protection for other at-risk community members.
Information packets will be given out at each school on ‘Meet the Teacher’ night and a nurse will be on hand to answer questions. Packets for parents who are not able to attend ‘Meet the Teacher’ will be sent home with students on the first day of school. Complete packet information and forms are also available at www.buncombecounty.org.
Information is available on the Buncombe County website; both Buncombe County and Asheville City School websites or you can call the Buncombe County flu hotline at 250-6400.
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