H1N1 vaccine given out at school

SAN LEANDRO, CA (KGO) -- The H1N1 flu vaccine is being given out right now at one school in San Leandro. This week the district is making the vaccine available to all students, but will it be enough and is everyone being served with, or without, insurance?

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The San Leandro School District has secured 2,100 doses, but of course it will not be enough since there are 8,500 students in San Leandro. Regardless, it is a very good start.

Getting students vaccinated is a priority for the San Leandro School District. Angela Greer was first in line on Monday. Her son had already gotten the vaccine, but not her daughter.

"My son who is only four and has asthma, he's one of the kids in the very high risk group and he can get very sick, so we need for her to get it, so in case it affects all of us, it won't be as bad," says Greer.

Cristina Comendant's two children may have the H1N1 flu. She wants to stop it from spreading to her other kids.

"I think they have the flu, really high temperatures, so I'm assuming that might be it, so I want to make sure they don't get it too," says Comendant.

There were 450 doses were made available on Monday. It is not enough for all the students at Jefferson Elementary, let alone others in the district. Still, there will be more given out on Tuesday and the rest of the week at other schools.

The Davis Street Family Resource Center is coordinating this vaccine drive. Last week they made it available to mainly uninsured families -- some parents who haven't been able to get the vaccine complained.

"Pretty much anyone who came last week, to the extent that we had the vaccine available, received it," says Rose Johnson from the resource center. When asked if people received it even if they had insurance, she replied "Yes, even if they had insurance. Although, I will tell you our priority are the uninsured because they are the ones who at the end of the day, are not going to get served anywhere."

A local San Leandro company owned by a Cuban immigrant donated the cost of the nurses and staff.

"We decided to hire nurses and bring them to the schools so we could inoculate all the underprivileged children right away," says ERI president G.G. Pique.

"I had a cough and it kept coming on for days and it was horrible," says student Camille Caldwell. When asked if she had the vaccine, she said yes and felt better.

The CDC says kids under the age of 10 should get two shots or the nasal spray twice. Pregnant women should only get one.

Because so many families showed up for Monday's vaccine event, they had to close an hour early.

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health, lyanne melendez

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