photo by Hannah Reel

Natchez High School freshman Chrishtian Cameron, 14, screams as Alcorn Baccalaureate School of Nursing junior Alford Perryman gives her the H1N1 shot at the school Thursday morning.

Area students receive free swine flu vaccinations

By Emily Ham (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Friday, November 13, 2009

NATCHEZ — The Alcorn State University Family Clinic giving free H1N1 vaccinations to students at Adams County and Franklin County students.

As a participant in the Adopt a School program started by the Mississippi State Department of Health, Alcorn’s nursing program has adopted every school in the county and three schools in Franklin County.

Approximately 350 Alcorn nursing students are participating in vaccination efforts that started Tuesday at West Primary School.

Photo by Hannah Reel

Natchez High School freshman Donnetrice King, 14, nervously awaits to be given her H1N1 shot from Alcorn Associate Degree of Nursing junior Sharminese Langdon as Alcorn ADN junior Jazmine Davis preps NHS freshman Jasmine Johnson, 15, for her H1N1 shot at the school Thursday morning.

Photo by Hannah Reel

A container of H1N1 shots wait to be given to Natchez-Adams County School District staff and students by Alcorn nursing students at the school Thursday morning.

Thursday morning, nursing students and faculty were set up at Natchez High School.

“One reason I adopted all of these schools because I knew we had the workload under control with all these students,” Family Nurse Practitioner Robin Christian said.

Christian, who serves as nurse manager of the Alcorn Family Clinic, said Alcorn’s nursing program is helping the state’s department of health achieve its goal to vaccinate all school-aged children.

Christian said each child within Adams County’s public and private schools had to turn in a consent form approving them for the vaccine.

“With all of those schools that we’ve adopted, it comes out to 5,300 students,” Christian said. “It appears that about 50 percent of the kids are getting their shots.

“I thought that we would have had a higher percentage of children,” Christian said. “(School-aged children are) the group that has the highest risk at getting the H1N1.”

Christian said she believes negative media coverage of the vaccine and the uncertainty of a new treatment factor into the week’s turnout.

Deana Mabry, a student in Alcorn’s graduate nursing practitioner program, said she was hesitant about the risks of the vaccine when she received her shot Thursday morning.

“I was uneasy about getting mine, but the benefits outweigh the risks,” Mabry said.

“I’m already a nurse,” Mabry said. “Right now, I’m doing my pediatric rotation, and I’m dealing with and seeing all different age groups.

“These students have just started, and injections are the first thing they learn to do.”

Assistant Professor of Nursing Rosie Williams was overseeing five of her students on Thursday.

“These are juniors, so this is their first year, Williams said. “This is part of their clinical year during their course.”

The majority of nursing students participating in the week’s activities are working to fulfill their 90-hour clinical requirement for their classes.

Williams said her students were getting to see many sides to patient care — especially dealing with young children.

“They’re not only learning about their bed-side manner, but they’re also learning to coordinate a big job and put those skills in place,” Williams said.

Approximately 100 students received shots Thursday, and from 8 to 10 a.m. today, the clinic will be vaccinating students at Robert Lewis Middle School.

Next week, the clinic will be providing vaccinations to students at the county’s private schools and three Franklin County schools.

Christian said if any students were not able to come get their vaccinations, they are able to come by Alcorn’s Family Clinic.

“If they are a school-aged student, and they missed (their vaccination), we can file it under their school, and they don’t have to pay,” Christian said.

For non-students, the H1N1 vaccine is $10.

While only injections were offered at the schools, the clinic offers two forms of the vaccine — the nasal spray and the injection.

The nasal mist is for people ages two to 49 with no medical problems, and the injection is for ages six months and up.

Vaccines are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.