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Students in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester 4 School Districts Can Get Yearly Flu Vaccines at School

Flu vaccines for 2012 will be offered to students at their school in these three Public School Districts. As a parent or guardian, you’ll just need to sign a consent form to allow your child to receive the vaccine at school. The vaccine program will probably begin in late September, depending on vaccine availability.

• Most children will be vaccinated using the flu mist, although some children may need to have the shot instead.
• Consent forms will be sent home with each child the 1st week of school.
• Make sure to read the Vaccine Information Statement for Flu Mist and the Vaccine Information Statement for the Flu Shot.

Paying for Vaccines

DHEC Public Health Region 7 is working with VaxCare, a private company that specializes in immunization services,  to provide flu vaccine to children through school-located vaccination clinics (SLVC). 

• If your child has private health insurance, VaxCare will bill your insurance.  To check if your child’s insurance company has a contract with VaxCare, please refer to VaxCare’s South Carolina Accepted Insurance List.
• If your insurance company does not pay for your child’s vaccines, you will receive a bill from VaxCare. The bill will be $25 for the shot version of the vaccine or $30 for the nasal mist version.
• If your child is covered by Medicaid or does not have any health insurance, he/she is eligible to receive the vaccine at no cost to you through the Federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.

Why Vaccinate Your Child Against Flu?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommend yearly flu vaccination for all children aged 6 months – 18 years — and for good reasons.

• The flu can make your child sick enough to miss school and activities, even sick enough to be hospitalized. Even healthy kids can get very sick from the flu, and they can spread it to others.
• The single best way to protect against seasonal flu and its potentially severe complications in children is to have your child get a seasonal flu vaccine each year.
• Studies show that schoolchildren vaccinated against flu have fewer illnesses, fewer absences from school, and lower rates of illness in their families during flu season compared with unvaccinated children.
• Children are one of the most common sources of flu transmission in the community. Immunizing children may also prevent the spread of the flu to others.

Learn more about the in-school flu vaccination program.

Documents and Forms You Will Need

• Letter to Parents and Guardians (pdf) [Spanish]
• Consent Form (pdf) [Spanish]
• Privacy Notice/HIPAA for SC DHEC (pdf) [Spanish]
• Privacy Notice/HIPAA for VaxCare (pdf) [Spanish]
• Vaccine Information Statement - Flu Mist (pdf) [Spanish]
• Vaccine Information Statement - Flu Shot (pdf) [Spanish]
• Vaccine Information Statements in Many Foreign Languages (Immunization Action Coalition website)

Learn More about Flu

• Get the facts on flu
• When to keep your child home from school
• When to keep your child home from daycare

Protect Other Family Members Too!

You can make an appointment online to get a flu vaccine at a public health clinic in Berkeley, Charleston, or Dorchester counties, or get more information by calling (843) 953-0090.