Environmental Health officer John M. Tagabuel, operation chief of the vaccination campaign, said the incident was attributed to a miscommunication among parents, the school and Public Health providers.
But Tagabuel said they got assurance from the doctor that the students who got the flu shot twice are well.
“In vaccination there’s no such thing as overdosing,” Public Health immunization manager Mariana Sablan Coats said.
Tagabuel said the vaccination drive was very successful with 3,556 elementary students in 10 public schools receiving their shots.
He said they always coordinate with the schools to ensure that classes will not be disrupted.
Today, he said the vaccination team will start administering H1N1 flu shots at Chachan Jr. High School, Hopwood Jr. High School, and Tinian Elementary School.
The Department of Public Health is targeting to reach 6,280 middle school students by next week, including those of Grace Christian Academy, Mount Carmel School, Saipan International School, Calvary Christian Academy, Ladera International School of Saipan, Marianas Baptist Academy and Saipan Community School.
Coats said they have 16,000 doses available and expect to receive 4,000 more within this month.
With 56,000 doses allocated for the CNMI, the vaccine, by January, will be available to anyone on Saipan who wants to get the shot, she added.
As of Dec. 5, she said, they had already covered 90 percent of the target groups which included pregnant women, school-age children, infants and children six months old and older, individuals who live with or care for infants less than six months old, health care and emergency services workers, as well as individuals who have a severe chronic disease or weakened immune system
Tagabuel said eight Public Health and five private providers have helped the vaccination campaign since it started on Oct. 29.
The schedule of vaccination next week is as follows: Dec. 16, at Marinas High School and Rota High School; Dec. 17, Kagman High School; Dec. 18, Saipan Southern High School; Dec. 21, Tinian Jr. High School; Dec. 22 Tinian High School; Dec. 23, St. Joseph School and Grace Christian Academy, both on Tinian.
