Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center giving H1N1 vaccine in schools

Armed with stickers and suckers, four nurses waited as first-graders lined up for their vaccines in the nurses office at Delta Elementary School.

"She's going to squirt just a little bit up your nose," said Linda Doerge, as the first student stepped up.

Some had more confidence than others as they approached Amy Smith, the nurse administering the injections and nasal sprays. There were tears, pouts and screams, but no student left the room without a sucker and a sticker.

First grader Austin Sides closes his eyes while receiving a nasal H1N1 flu vaccination from Amy Smith Wednesday at Mary Maud Hosea Elementary School in Delta. (Kit Doyle)

"She's a future thespian," said Doerge, as a kindergartner screamed at the sight of the needle. In all, about 15 students received the vaccine.

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center started administering swine flu vaccines in schools Wednesday. The center held a clinic at Nell Holcomb School during the morning and was at Delta Elementary School during the afternoon.

Targeting schools will get the vaccine where it is needed most, said Doerge, the regional public health emergency response planner. She said she also works with Bollinger, Madison and Stoddard counties.

"It seems to be hitting the children the hardest," Doerge said.

Kindergarten students and first-graders will be vaccinated first, said health center director Charlotte Craig. As more doses arrive, county workers will continue vaccinating the older grades.

"We are still in the prioritization stage," she said. There are not enough vaccines to hold mass clinics yet, she said.

Health care workers and first responders were the first to receive the vaccines when they arrived two weeks ago. About 300 preservative-free doses have also been rationed to obstetrician offices for pregnant women.

Craig said she has about 1,000 vaccines for county students, including public and private schools. Children 10 and under should receive two doses, she said. If supplies last, the younger students in Cape Girardeau County will receive their second dose after all students in the county have been vaccinated.

"I'm counting on the vaccine coming in," she said. "Even so, one dose is better than no dose."

Schools are sending information home to parents notifying them of the available vaccines, including a letter from the health center and a release form. Craig said nurses will be in the schools administering shots every day as long as possible. The health center is receiving more vaccines on a weekly basis, but supplies are not guaranteed.

"None of this is written in stone when you're dealing with this huge production," she said.

Students who have health conditions affecting their immune system need to take the injection version of the vaccine, she said. Because the health center has more nasal mists, Craig said she encourages students to take the nasal mist so the injections can be saved for the people who need them.

Barb Kinder, the school nurse at Nell Holcomb School, said about 40 students received the swine flu vaccine during their clinic Wednesday morning. She said the young students were brave and there were few problems.

"The only thing is we wish we could have them all done today," she said.

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Kindergartener Graci Roberts tries to keep from crying while Amy Smith, left, administers an H1N1 swine flu vaccination shot Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 21, 2009, at Mary Maud Hosea Elementary School in Delta. School nurse Veronica Dodds holds Roberts. (Kit Doyle)