Students get H1N1 shots free

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• Will your child be vaccinated?

Red Wing parents won't have to reach for their pocketbooks when the H1N1 vaccine is distributed next month.

Students can receive the vaccine for free, Red Wing School District nurse Kris Klassen said Monday. The vaccinations will be voluntary and available for all K-12 students.

"It's extremely important for kids to get vaccinated," Klassen said Tuesday.

She said vaccinations will take place at school buildings. The vaccine is expected to arrive mid-October in Red Wing.

The federal government purchased the vaccine and is making it available at no cost for mass vaccination programs, said Sue Morgan, nursing director at Goodhue County Public Health. She said the county will not add any administrative fees.

Morgan said students will receive H1N1 vaccinations during the day and the stations will remain open evenings for adults in target groups:

• Pregnant women

• Health care workers and emergency service personnel

• Household members and caregivers of infants less than 6 months old

• Six-month-olds to 24-year-olds

• People 25 to 64 with medical conditions putting them at risk for complications from the flu.

Klassen said the free vaccinations also would be open to local parochial-school students.

She made the announcement Monday to Red Wing School Board members, under heightened concerns about H1N1, often called swine flu.

"This virus is so rapidly spreading," Klassen told board members, saying H1N1 is spreading four times faster than "anything ever seen before."

Klassen said it was unclear whether students at Colvill Family Center - which primarily houses preschoolers - would receive vaccinations at the building due to the age of the children there. She said officials would work with parents to determine how best to vaccinate those children.

The district's staff and students have been briefed on what to do if they suspect they've contracted the virus. School Board member Heidi Jones asked if volunteers were also aware.

Supt. Stan Slessor that is "something we could get a lot stronger at."

Tags: local news, red wing, red wing school board, news, education, h1n1