All RI schools are offered flu vaccine

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Public health officials say every child in every public, private and parochial school in Rhode Island will be offered flu vaccines this year.

Health Department spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth says the program may be the nation's first statewide school-based flu clinic.

She says vaccines for seasonal flu strains and H1N1 will be offered at no charge starting in October and running through December.

No one will be required to get the vaccine. Pediatricians are also receiving vaccine supplies for parents who would rather take their children to their own doctor.

Dr. Elizabeth Lange, past president of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, tells The Providence Journal it is important to inoculate children who often experience more severe flu symptoms, and can pass the flu on to other family members.