SANFORD — All students in the Sanford school system can get a free flu shot as long as their parents or guardians first fill out a permission slip.
The school department has set flu-shot clinics for students for the middle of the month. Students at Sanford Junior High School and Carl J. Lamb School are scheduled for flu-shot clinics Nov. 12, Lafayette and Willard school on Nov. 13, and Margaret Chase Smith School and Sanford High School Nov. 14.
Assistant Superintendent Eric Knowlton said the permission slips can be downloaded from the school’s website (www.sanford.org) and are available in all school offices. Permission slips are also being sent home with all elementary school students, he said.
The school has plenty of vaccines available, and, he emphasized, there is no cost to get the shot.
The flu shots have been available for the past several years, but families don’t always take advantage of them, Knowlton said. He said the school department is hoping for more parents and guardians to authorize flu shots for their children this year.
The Maine Center for Disease Control said there has been no widespread flu outbreaks this year in Maine as of Nov. 1 ”“ the latest date available.
School officials and public health agencies ”“ and undoubtedly parents ”“ want to keep it that way.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the best way to protect children from the flu is to get them vaccinated. The U.S. CDC urges everyone 6 months old and older to get a flu shot.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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