H1N1 vaccines begin today at Tampa schools

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

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Vaccines will be administered at Caminiti, LaVoy, Dover and Eisenhower ESE centers beginning today.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Hundreds of Bay area students will be the first protected against the swine flu.

Special needs students will be the first to receive the vaccine beginning today.

Vaccines will be administered at Caminiti, LaVoy, Dover and Eisenhower ESE centers. Vaccine teams will travel to Lopez ESE, DW Waters and Simmons Career Center on Wednesday.

According to Hillsborough County Health Department officials, the vaccines are first being administered to special needs students because many of them have chronic medical conditions putting them at higher risk.

"I think it's great,' said Melissa Bustamante, whose brother Alsides attends LaVoy. "They are very blessed to be the first ones to have it not like other schools. I think it's good."

But not all parents or guardians are pleased about the immunizations.

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Desire Cariera, an exceptional student at Lavoy, will not be receiving a vaccine. Cariera's grandmother Caribab Iemus said Cariera's mother is skeptical.

"It's experimental,' Iemus said. "And she doesn't believe in giving it to her until it's perfected."

About 20 of the 80 students at LaVoy have returned signed permission slips to receive a vaccine, according to school officials.

Health department officials said the rest of the county's students would have access to the vaccine starting next week. The health department is receiving weekly shipments of the vaccine and availability will be based on those shipments.

As of late last week, the health department had a little more than 7,000 doses of the H1N1vaccine. Officials said more shipments are arriving this week.