Anchorage Daily News

Into the library, straight to a volunteer nurse, hold a teacher's hand if you need to, then zap, it's over. You get an Over the Hedge or maybe a Narnia sticker for your trouble, sit around and compare arms for a few minutes. Then back to class.

That's how it went for Airport Heights Elementary School students Monday as the Anchorage School District started assembly-line vaccination clinics to protect children from swine flu.

The district held clinics at four elementary schools Monday: Airport Heights, Denali, Lake Otis and Fairview.

But only 41 percent of the children in those four schools got the vaccine. Districtwide, parents have given permission for about half of the kids to be vaccinated, said Mark Mew, the district's head of security.

The district had expected to get permission for two-thirds of the students. It is vaccinating children in schools because young people are among those considered to be at highest risk from this particular flu.

The top two reasons parents give for not allowing the vaccine is that they don't want their children to get vaccines in general, or they don't think swine flu is that much of a problem, said Heidi Embley, district spokeswoman.

At Airport Heights, principal Mike Webb said he didn't know why so few parents allowed their children to get the free vaccine. The school has a lot of children who are learning English as a second language, he said, and speculated that maybe some parents didn't understand. But parents of most Airport Heights families attended parent conferences last week, and people were on hand to explain the vaccinations, Webb said.

Some of the older children at Airport Heights said they wanted the vaccine because they've heard swine flu kills children.

Fourth-grader Mischa Wilson heard that on the news, she said. "Hopefully I don't get it," she said after getting the shot. The shot felt like "a scratch from my cat," she said.

"My mom told me you could get sick from it," said Amanda Jackson, another fourth-grader.

Most children at Airport Heights took it with a smile, a grimace, or a quiet "Ow."

Jameria Rutledge, also a fourth-grader, likened the shot to a carnival ride. "You are very eager and scared to get it. After you get it done, you feel good."

The district plans to administer vaccines, which come either as a shot in the arm or a nasal spray, at 17 elementary schools this week, and all the elementary schools by the end of November. Then they'll hold clinics in middle and high schools.

The district wanted to get to middle schools and high schools this month, too, but couldn't secure enough vaccine.

As it is, supplies are iffy from week to week, said Mew.

But with fewer students getting parental permission than the district expected, the limited vaccine the district is able to get might cover more schools, said Mew.

Find Rosemary Shinohara online at adn.com/contact/rshinohara or call her at 257-4340.

Swine flu vaccination

The Anchorage School District has scheduled swine flu vaccination clinics for children at 17 elementary schools this week:

Monday: Airport Heights, Denali, Fairview and Lake Otis elementary schools.

Today: Chugach Optional School.

Wednesday: Birchwood, Chugiak, and Fire Lake elementary schools.

Thursday: Aquarian charter school, Chinook, Inlet View, Mountain View, Mount Illiamna, Tyson elementary schools and Winterberry K-8 school.

Friday: Bear Valley and O’Malley elementary schools.

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