Healthy Schools, in cooperation with the School District of Palm Beach County and the Florida Department Of Health will “Teach Flu A Lesson” with free flue shots.
Palm Beach County public school students are gearing up to fight influenza this school year. The partnership between the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, the school district and Healthy Schools LLC and was formed to immunize all students who provide completed signed consent forms at no cost.
“‘Teach Flu a Lesson’ is a proven initiative that improves the health of students,” said Tony Boselli, Healthy Schools’ founder. “We are delighted to provide flu vaccine to students in Palm Beach County.”
Flu immunizations will be administered by Healthy Schools’ nurses to students with parental consent in every participating Palm Beach County public school between Sept. 22 and Oct. 2.
“This is a perfect opportunity for parents to assure their children are immunized against the flu this year,” said, Dr. Marsha Fishbane, School Health Medical Director for the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that everyone ages 6 months and older receive a flu vaccine yearly. Bringing flu vaccines into schools has proven to be an effective way to increase the vaccination rates for children in Florida.
Each year in the U.S., an average of 20,000 children under the age of five are hospitalized for flu-related complication. Children with chronic health conditions such as asthma and diabetes have an extremely high risk of developing serious flu-related complications.
Children are more likely to get the flu or have flu-related complications because their immune systems are still developing. Schools tend to serve as incubators of influenza in each community. During the 2013-14 flu season, 107 deaths in children were reported.
For more information, call the Florida Department of Health’s Palm Beach County public information line at (561) 671-4014 or visit www.floridashealth.com or www.pbchd.com.
