School clinics to administer the new chickenpox vaccine will be held February 24 and 25 at Eastern Kings Consolidated Schools.
Public health nurses will deliver the vaccine Thursday, February 24, at St. Peter's Consolidated, Souris Consolidated, Fortune Consolidated, Rollo Bay Consolidated, and Eastern Kings Consolidated Schools. A clinic will be held Friday, February 25th, at Dundas Consolidated School.
The vaccine will be administered to children in grades one to six who have not had the chickenpox. There is no charge to receive the vaccine, but consent forms are required.
These are one-time clinics for this vaccine, and they will not be offered in the schools again.
The Department of Health and Social Services encourages parents to have their children immunized against chickenpox before they become adults. Chickenpox results in complications in one in 20 people who become ill with the disease and can result in birth defects if a mother catches the illness during pregnancy.