WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsThree local schools vaccinate students

Three local schools vaccinate students

Chippewa Falls (WQOW) - Three local schools double as vaccination clinics Monday.

Students at Chippewa Falls McDonell along with Halmstad and Stillson elementary schools received the H1N1 vaccine. About 500 doses were given out. 

A week ago, the state expanded the group that can receive the vaccination to include all school-aged children and young adults up to 24-years-old. The Chippewa County Health Department says it plans to reach every school in the county before Christmas.

"The state asked us as health departments to work on immunizing school-aged children because of the severe incidents it was having with some children. And so, one way to reach children is schools. And yes, we may be one of the first to offer it in schools, but we aren't the only ones. We know there are other health departments making similar plans and they're just waiting for the okay to move ahead with their clinics," says Jean Durch, Chippewa County director of public health.

The Eau Claire City County Health Department says it made a decision early on that it would not hold clinics at schools. The director says their efforts to schedule clinics in other locations across the community have worked well. So far, they've given out almost 3,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine.

For more information on local clinics, click here.