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Supes halt school flu clinics over consent forms |
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Friday, 31 October 2008 |
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By Mike Gervais
Register Staff
10-30-2008 Flu vaccination clinics are going back to school, now that the Inyo County Board of Supervisors feels parents and students will be adequately informed of personal questions that will be asked of minors.
Concerned that parents might not be aware that some of the questions deal with pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, the board devised a new set of consent forms that clearly highlight the sensitive information.
Inyo County Health and Human Services was given 1,100 doses of flu vaccine mist in August to be used in a mass-vaccination clinic.
Health and Human Services thought the best way to dole out the vaccinations would be to hold clinics at local schools, which would serve two purposes – vaccinating students so that they don’t miss school, and testing the Heath Department’s ability to handle a large volume of vaccinations in a short amount of time.
Board Chair and First District Supervisor Linda Arcularius put a stop to planned clinics scheduled in Big Pine, Bishop and Round Valley after reading the consent form that must be filled out before any student can receive the vaccination, even though those school boards approved the vaccination clinic and the waiver that was in question Tuesday.
In an emergency addition to Tuesday’s board agenda, the supervisors agreed to re-word the consent form and allow the inoculations to proceed at the schools, but told Health and Human Services staff to come to the board with a game plan before they begin organizing vaccination clinics at local schools again.
“It was really the notification part that I felt strongly about,” said Arcularius on Tuesday. She said that it should be clear to parents that when they sign the consent form, that they are essentially giving a public health nurse permission to ask a series of personal questions of the students.
The parents also receive a copy of the questions that will be asked of students.
“The intentions of the program are honorable,” Arcularius said, but when students – some as young as seventh grade – are asked personal questions about whether they are pregnant or have sexually transmitted diseases, “they have to make a very difficult decision in an adult setting,” and if they are untruthful and receive the vaccination, it could lead to health problems.
Arcularius also said that “parents should have every ability to know what their children are doing and what they’re talking about.”
The board agreed to send another consent form to the parents of students with a bold paragraph informing parents that their students will be asked personal questions.
In addition to the parent’s signature, the student must also initial the document, showing that they are aware of the personal questions that will be asked.
Health and Human Services decided to begin hosting flu vaccination clinics at local schools in response to concerns from school administrators about absentee students.
According to Inyo County Health and Human Services Director Jean Dickinson, inoculating the students will stop the spread of the flu in schools, helping the district maintain attendance records.
Many schools receive state funding for each day a student is present, so high absentee rates actually contribute to declining school budgets.
With approval from the board, Health and Human Services will reschedule the cancelled clinics in Big Pine and Bishop, and send a new, clearer consent form.
Before students can receive a flu vaccination at school, their parents must fill out and sign a consent form that outlines the personal questions that will be asked of students, regarding pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and more.
Before receiving the shot, the students will be asked the same series of questions, and if their answers differ from the parents, the shot will not be administered.
According to Dickinson, 30 percent of the students in each school district that agreed to host flu clinics signed up for the inoculations.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 November 2008 )
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