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New York will provide free swine flu shots to elementary school children as part of a plan to slow the spread of the new virus that health officials say has infected 10 percent of the city’s population. The city will also designate primary-care clinics as “flu centers” to distribute the shots, according to plans released today by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office. The free shots for schoolchildren are voluntary and require a parent’s consent, the city said in a statement.
Swine flu has infected about 800,000 people in New York, or about 10 percent of the city’s population, according to Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The city today also said it plans to promote vaccination through subway advertisements and make 60 health centers available to see patients with no health insurance. “We can’t predict this year’s flu season, but we can make sure that city government is fully prepared for whatever happens,” Bloomberg said in a statement. The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.
No child will be required to get the vaccine, which is not yet available but expected in mid- to late October. It will be optional, and offered to both public and private school students. Other elements of the city’s plan include tracking flulike illness at emergency rooms and posting that and other data on a new flu website. The city will also produce a daily report on public school absenteeism and schools reporting five or more cases of flulike illness. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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