"While you might now be lounging at the beach or skateboarding at the park, before you know it, it'll be "back to school" time. And along with that comes flu season. If you're an incoming freshman (9th grader) at GWHS, you might be eligible for FREE flu vaccination. The San Francisco Health Department is providing GWHS with enough vaccine for 200 students. Healthy students can receive the nasal spray. Students with long-term conditions such as diabetes, moderate to severe asthma, heart conditions, or immune system conditions can get the injection. Information about the vaccine and a consent form will be made available on Friday, August 14, when 9th graders can pick up their schedules. This program is completely optional. If there are more than 200 consent forms returned by the deadline (date to be set in September), priority will be given to students who have returned a completed application, and are eligible for, free/reduced lunch.
This CDC website provides you with information about flu and the flu vaccine--the nasal spray and the injectable type--in print, in other languages, and in AUDIO format:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/#flu
Why should you want a vaccine? For one thing, you won't catch the strains of flu that are part of the vaccine (sorry, H1N1 vaccine isn't available yet). Also, you won't spread the flu to your family, and vulnerable persons such as grandparents and babies. There are 36,000 Americans who die each year from flu, mostly the elderly. You can help stop the spread by being protected.
If you have any questions, you can write to our Wellness Center Nurse, Ms. Boyer-Chu, at BoyerL@sfusd.edu. She'll respond to you when she returns from summer break on August 19.
Lynda Boyer-Chu, RN, MPH
San Francisco Unified School District
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