H1N1 flu shots to be offered to students

The long awaited H1N1 flu shots will be offered later this week to students in the Palmerton Area School District

Clinics for the vaccination will be held Thursday at the Parkside Elementary and S.S. Palmer Education Center, and on Friday at the high school/junior high complex and Towamensing Elementary.

On Thursday, the clinic will start at Parkside, followed by S.S. Palmer. On Friday, it will start at the high school, followed by the junior high and then Towamensing.

Parents with questions are urged to contact their child's nurse, according to the message posted on the district's web site at www.palmerton.org.

Superintendent Carol Boyce announced last month that the district has been approved for the vaccination, but had to wait until it was made available.

At that time, Boyce said the number of permission slips from students who said they wanted the shot were "no where near the 2,000 students we have."

The matter was front and center in November after several students were believed to have tested positive for the H1N1 swine flu.

That prompted the board to agree to hold a clinic for inoculations for the swine flu for the entire student body as soon as the vaccine was available.

The vaccines will be administered through the state Department of Health at no cost to the district, Boyce said.

However, she cautioned that the procedure isn't mandatory, and that parents do have the option for their children.