San Diego County education officials say H1N1 school clinics might open sooner than later. That's because the county received an unexpected shipment of the swine flu vaccinations last week.
Almost 30 San Diego County school districts have agreed to provide campus space for county-operated vaccination clinics.
Those clinics will start inoculating kids beginning next week thanks to an unexpected shipment of 78,000 doses of the swine flu vaccination.
Jim Esterbrooks is with the San Diego County Office of Education. He says these clinics will cater to students and school staffers. He says the general public should not rely on them. Instead, they should call on their own doctors or community clinics.
“They shouldn't see them as their first option for vaccinations,” Esterbrooks said. “They should go to their normal medial provider for that. In partnership with those established medial providers, the schools hope to support the countywide effort.”
Esterbrooks also discourages parents from calling their child's school to find out if it will house an H1N1 clinic. He says families will be notified.
However it’s still unclear how those campuses will be reimbursed for taking on the extra responsibility.
Esterbrooks admits campuses picked to house make-shift clinics will most likely have to stay open longer, bring-in more school workers and print more informational materials.
“(School officials) are not going to simply turn over the keys to county health and human services even as competent as those folks are. School folks still need to be in charge of their campuses.”
It may be difficult for financially-strapped school districts and campuses to pay for the extra services. And it's unclear whether the state will reimburse them for their time and resources. County education officials say those details still need to be discussed.
