Free Flu Shots Offered to Students

Flu clinics will be offered for students in the Grafton schools this fall.

Flu vaccines will be offered during the day at and and after hours for the elementary schools, Grafton Town Nurse Patricia Pighetti-Parent and Grafton High School nurse Celia Thurber told members of the Grafton School Committee tonight.

The vaccines will be offered free through a federal program, Pighetti-Parent said. The dates have not yet been determined but likely be sometime this fall, she said.

The nurses and members of the town’s Medical Reserve Corps have agreed to volunteer their time to offer the vaccines, the nurses said.

Thurber suggested that the vaccines be given after hours for younger students because parents may want to be with their children during the procedure.

Pighetti-Parent said she understood that thinking, but hoped that in time the younger students would be comfortable receiving the shots during the school day and would at it like any other special event, such as the days when school photos are taken.

Children are especially encouraged to be immunized because they are often the first line of defense in a family, Pighetti-Parent said. Keeping children healthy increases the odds that parents and grandparents will stay healthy, she said.

This can be especially vital this year because adult flu clinics have been cancelled, except for those who are uninsured or underinsured, she said.