Roxanne Diaz, special assistant to Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, is urging parents to encourage their children to take the flu vaccine which is administered for free at their schools.
A team from the department is scheduled to hold a flu vaccine drive today at Saipan Southern High School and tomorrow at Marianas High School.
“From previous flu drive experiences at the middle and high schools, it has been a challenge reaching the students. We urge parents to get their kids vaccinated and if they have any questions, to please access our flu website (fluwatchdph.gov.mp) or to email us at [email protected],” said Diaz.
“Again, we ask parents to turn in their child’s signed consent forms back to school before their child’s vaccination date. No consent form, no shot,” she added.
A mass vaccination drive is also being arranged this month.
Thus far, the department has already administered 8,075 seasonal flu vaccines.
Health authorities said the seasonal flu vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect one from getting the flu strains circulating this year.
Diaz said those who already had their H1N1 flu vaccine should also get the seasonal flu vaccine.
“We cannot stress enough that the single best way to prevent the flu and to lessen the severity of the illness is to get vaccinated. The more people who receive the vaccine, the better off our community will be,” she said.
The number of patients with influenza-like illnesses referred to the Commonwealth Health Center went up during the first month of this calendar year despite the availability of free flu vaccines.
