LANDOVER, Maryland - October 9, 2009 - A U.S. government media event to promote H1N1 school vaccinations on Friday included VIPs, cute children and a phalanx of television cameras - but only one in five children at the school had proper parental consent to get immunized.
"This school was ready to go," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius declared after touring a makeshift vaccination clinic in the cafeteria at Dodge Park Elementary School, near Washington.
But 80% of the student body was ineligible for vaccinations due to missing paperwork during the daylong swine flu clinic.
Health and Human Services spokeswoman Jenny Backus said the turnout was impressive because parents had only a few days to fill out and return consent forms. "Hopefully, today's experience will help other parents see how easy it is to get their child protected against the flu," she said.
But the small numbers also underscored the challenge facing the U.S. government's $6.4 billion immunization effort, which involves the widespread use of schools as vaccine clinics for the first time in a generation.
"This school was ready to go," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius declared after touring a makeshift vaccination clinic in the cafeteria at Dodge Park Elementary School, near Washington.
But 80% of the student body was ineligible for vaccinations due to missing paperwork during the daylong swine flu clinic.
Health and Human Services spokeswoman Jenny Backus said the turnout was impressive because parents had only a few days to fill out and return consent forms. "Hopefully, today's experience will help other parents see how easy it is to get their child protected against the flu," she said.
But the small numbers also underscored the challenge facing the U.S. government's $6.4 billion immunization effort, which involves the widespread use of schools as vaccine clinics for the first time in a generation.