Turning to schools
Next flu season, the new federal recommendation could mean extra walk-in clinics at pediatricians' offices, Ehresmann said, or a bigger role for "non traditional" sites such as MinuteClinic and Target clinics.
But the most appealing sites, some say, are where children naturally gather.
"I do think schools are a natural setting," said Patricia Stinchfield, director of infectious disease at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and a member of the federal vaccine advisory panel. She and others say there are logistical issues to be addressed, such as getting parental permission without overburdening the schools.
Last fall, a group of Minneapolis charter schools experimented with providing flu shots with the help of the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency. About 250 students and adults got flu shots at schools, said Peck Tierney, the agency's school health coordinator.
Now the organization, which provides flu shots to many nursing homes and businesses, is talking with the Minneapolis public schools about a similar project this fall.
Mary Heiman, nursing manager for the school district, said schools are wary of taking on the burden alone. "We have not been in the business of giving immunizations for a very long time," she said. "I could see ... why the schools would seem like a natural place for that, but we would need some very strong collaborative partners." She said no decision has been made yet for next fall.
The key to curbing flu?
Typically, only a fraction of school-age children get flu shots: just under 13 percent of kids with no special risk factors, according to a 2005 government survey.
Even high-risk kids are often no-shows: only about a third of those with underlying problems such as asthma got flu shots, the survey found.
Yet experts say vaccinating kids could be the key to curbing influenza.
But the most appealing sites, some say, are where children naturally gather.
"I do think schools are a natural setting," said Patricia Stinchfield, director of infectious disease at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and a member of the federal vaccine advisory panel. She and others say there are logistical issues to be addressed, such as getting parental permission without overburdening the schools.
Last fall, a group of Minneapolis charter schools experimented with providing flu shots with the help of the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency. About 250 students and adults got flu shots at schools, said Peck Tierney, the agency's school health coordinator.
Now the organization, which provides flu shots to many nursing homes and businesses, is talking with the Minneapolis public schools about a similar project this fall.
Mary Heiman, nursing manager for the school district, said schools are wary of taking on the burden alone. "We have not been in the business of giving immunizations for a very long time," she said. "I could see ... why the schools would seem like a natural place for that, but we would need some very strong collaborative partners." She said no decision has been made yet for next fall.
The key to curbing flu?
Typically, only a fraction of school-age children get flu shots: just under 13 percent of kids with no special risk factors, according to a 2005 government survey.
Even high-risk kids are often no-shows: only about a third of those with underlying problems such as asthma got flu shots, the survey found.
Yet experts say vaccinating kids could be the key to curbing influenza.
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