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About 1,500 children at six Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools queued up for H1N1 vaccine Monday on the first day of school-based clinics in the county.
Six more schools will hold clinics daily through Nov. 24, when schools break for Thanksgiving, or as long as the Mecklenburg County Health Department's vaccine supply lasts.
Nurses started the week with 11,500 doses. They hope to get new shipments so they can hold clinics in as many schools as possible before Christmas break.
Monday's clinics - at Tryon Hills, Amay James and Starmount Pre-Ks and J.H. Gunn, Hidden Valley and Billingsville elementary schools - ran "like clockwork," said Nancy Langenfeld, CMS school health specialist.
"The kids are great. They've been coming in with smiles, and a little nervous," she said. "They've had so much education, I think they understand, as much as they can, that it's going to help them, to keep them from getting sick."
Only children whose parents have signed consent forms can receive the vaccine.
At Billingsville, where news reporters were allowed to observe, children filed in quietly, class by class, to the multipurpose room. Each child received a black and white stuffed Snoopy dog, donated by West Charlotte High School.
Helium-filled balloons in blue, red and green marked tables where nurses offered nasal mist, appropriate for healthy children.
Nurses sitting at a table under a gold balloon offered flu shots, for children with chronic medical problems. A purple balloon floated above the table where they collected consent forms and resolved any questions.
One first-grader informed volunteer Faye Bowman that he would need an injection because he has asthma.
He asked her if it would hurt.
"Maybe like a mosquito bite," she said.
A few minutes later, after he'd had the shot and gotten a sticker - "I received the H1N1 vaccine today!!!!" - Bowman asked him if it had hurt.
He shook his head "no." And when she held out her hand, he gave her a high-five.
Another little girl cried "Ow" before the needle even touched her arm. But when it was over, she smiled proudly at the nurse who had told her it wouldn't hurt much. "I knew you were right," the girl said.
Clutching her Snoopy, she walked to one end of the room, where classmates sat watching the animated movie "Robots" until all in their group had been vaccinated. Volunteers escorted them back to their classrooms.
Vaccines, like any medicines, can cause allergic reactions or other side effects.
In fliers sent home with consent forms, school officials cautioned parents to watch vaccinated children for changes, such as high fever or difficulty breathing. If symptoms develop, parents are advised to contact their doctors.
Children under 10 are advised to get a second booster shot a month after the first. They'll be able to get those from school nurses or from their own doctors.
Health officials say the risk of getting a reaction from the H1N1 vaccine is no greater than that from the seasonal flu vaccine. But children are among those at highest risk of getting seriously ill if they get swine flu.
In the six months since H1N1 was detected, federal health officials estimate that 22 million people have become ill and 3,900 have died, including 540 children.
