Union County School District students in grades kindergarten through four are gearing up for a second round of the novel H1N1 flu vaccination.

That’s the word from district superintendent Dr. David Eubanks.

This wave of the injection-type vaccine — required for children ages 9 and under — is set for Wednesday, Jan. 20, and will be administered by the Department of Health and Environmental Control with the help of school nurses.

This round and the first vaccinations — which were given to students in the district in December — are part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s goal to get children and people in other at-risk groups vaccinated against this new strain of the influenza virus.

“This strain of flu seems to be most deadly to the younger population,” Eubanks said.

The district’s objective is to vaccinate students and also those who work with children to hinder its spread. The vaccine was made available to all adults who work in the Union County School District.

Nearly half of the student body was vaccinated in December.

“We have 4,400 students and of that 4,400 we vaccinated approximately 2,000,” Eubanks said.

The first round went off like clockwork, the superintendent added.

“All the students did well,” Eubanks said. “In my opinion, it was as systematic as one could have hoped for.”

The ease at which the first wave of H1N1 vaccinations were given was directly related to the way DHEC employees, school nurses, teachers, administration, students and others worked together. Eubanks said the district appreciates the efforts of everyone — especially the school nurses — in making the process run smoothly.

“Our nurses played a vital roll in the process,” he said. “I was concerned about some of the younger students, but they did well. Our nurses worked with them and I think that’s the reason it went so well.”

The flu doesn’t seem to be impacting the district at this time; however, Eubanks said at the beginning of the school year there was a significant number of students who were out sick.

“We have, in fact, seen a noticeable decline in the number of students being absent,” he said.

That’s good now, but the superintendent added officials are concerned with a resurgence of the virus.

“This is a little more than a seasonal-type flu,” Eubanks said, adding there’s been indications the H1N1 — or swine flu — could be an issue throughout the entire year.

It’s for that reason the CDC and the school district want to protect as many children and other at-risk populations as possible. Eubanks said he’s heard nothing but positive comments from parents of the district in regard to the vaccinations.

Parents needed to give their permission for their child to receive the vaccination.

“I think once the students had the vaccine, parents saw it was something that wasn’t harmful and something that’s good for the family,” Eubanks said.

The second round of vaccinations should go even more smoothly than the first with less students needing it. Eubanks said it would have been nice to have all students vaccinated, but the district respects those decisions.

“All the students did well,” he said. “I think it would have been good if we had 100 percent participation, but those decisions are made by parents and we respect that.”

Health officials urge everyone to get vaccinated against H1N1

It only hurts for a second.

But the benefits of getting vaccinated against the novel H1N1 flu virus — or swine flu — outweigh the pain.

The new strain of flu has been out of the news in the last few weeks as the second wave of the worldwide pandemic is winding down. However, that doesn’t mean the virus has taken its course.

According to Public Health Region 2 Medical Director Melissa Overman, people are still being hospitalized, the Department of Health and Environmental Control is still getting reports of the new flu and health organizations continue to monitor the strain.

So it’s not going away.

“We certainly see it in waves,” said Region 2 Interim Health Director Barbara Thomas.

“Historically, there typically would be three waves in any influenza pandemic,” added Overman.

She and Thomas, along with employees of the Union County Public Health Department, hosted a flu shot clinic on Friday afternoon for county and City of Union employees and their families at the public health department’s offices in Union.

Overman said right now the second wave of the H1N1 pandemic is coming to a close. People could be thinking it’s done and over with, but it’s actually the other way around. Now is the right time to get vaccinated against the new flu strain before the third round strikes.

Instead of waiting for people to once again become sick with the H1N1 flu, become hospitalized or even die, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and South Carolina DHEC are urging people to get vaccinated.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that won’t happen, but we like to be prepared,” Overman said.

The Union County health office is available for some walk-in vaccinations but anyone can call to set up an appointment to get either the nasal spray or injection versions of the vaccine.

And those vaccines are free of charge at the health department.

The best protection against the flu is still to get vaccinated, Overman and Thomas reiterated.

“Prevention is the best medicine,” Overman said.

It’s also still a good idea to wash your hands, cover your cough with your sleeve and stay at home if you’re sick.

It has only been since Dec. 21 that both versions of the vaccine have been available to everyone and Overman and Thomas want to make sure people know it is available if they want to get it.

“Hi, it’s here and it’s available,” Overman said.

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT:

• Anyone who would like to get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu can contact the Union County Public Health Department at (864) 429-1690 or stop by the office at 115 Thomas St. in Union to ask when they are available to give the shot or nasal spray vaccines. Vaccinations are at no charge when you get one at the public health department. Also, ask your private healthcare provider if they have the vaccine available.