Another one: (bolding and underlining is mine)
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/island_student_was_given_swine.html
The city is probing the case of a Staten Island student who was given the swine flu vaccine this week without parental consent.
A similar case was reported in Brooklyn. In both instances, the students reportedly suffered no ill effects.
More than 1,800 public school children were inoculated at their parents' request.
In accordance with policy, the Health Department did not release the names of the two children involved in the "misstep."
The Health Department and Department of Education released a joint statement on the incident, which reads, in part: "The Health Department has trained all nurses to follow a protocol for confirming parental consent and reviewing each child's health screening information before vaccine is administered. These children have had no adverse effects and the Health Department does not expect any future adverse medical effects for these children, but we are working to determine how this misstep occurred, and we will develop additional safeguards to prevent similar instances in the future."
Meanwhile, Governor David Paterson has declared a swine flu emergency, expanding the universe of health care providers who can dispense vaccines - but those vaccines are still in short supply on Staten Island.
Under existing law, physicians, certified nurse practitioners and nurses may administer vaccinations. The governor's executive order means that other health care professionals - such as dentists, dental hygienists, podiatrists, pharmacists, midwives and physicians assistants - will be temporarily allowed to administer swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines with only brief training.
The declaration will help avoid overwhelming hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities with swine flu cases, according to the governor. It also suspends the requirement that health care workers get written consent for the vaccine.
"Local governments are reporting that the current public health workforce is not sufficient to thoroughly execute a vaccination campaign of this magnitude. Those local governments and health care providers specifically requested that we issue this emergency declaration to give them flexibility to use additional personnel and resources in New York's vaccination campaign," Paterson said in a press release.
But health experts on the Island say, should the borough see a significant spike in swine flu cases, the workforce won't be a problem.
"I think what he is doing is great, being pro-active. But currently, we don't have a problem finding personnel to give it out. The problem is getting access to the vaccine," said Dr. Vincent Calamia, president of the Richmond County Medical Society.
"We don't have, at this stage, a fraction of what we need," Dr. Calamia added.
The city Department of Health did not have exact swine flu figures for Staten Island, but local health experts said there have been "hundreds" of cases here. There have been no confirmed swine flu deaths on the Island.
The governor's executive order says at least 75 deaths in the state have been attributed to the swine flu.
About five or fewer patients visit the emergency rooms at Staten Island University Hospital with flu-like symptoms every day, according to their own statistics. That's relatively light when considering 10,638 people visited hospitals across the city on Wednesday with flu-like symptoms, according to Health statistics.
SIUH has about 2,000 doses of swine flu vaccine, which will be administered to employees based on protocol - those who have direct contact with patients in high-risk areas, such as intensive care and the operating rooms will have first priority, according to Arleen Ryback, director of public relations at the hospital. Any further supplies will be used for patients with the highest risk - young children, pregnant women and adolescents.
Doctors across the borough have reported receiving only a fraction of even their seasonal flu supplies, and many have already administered their last shots.
To remedy that, state officials say the number of vaccine doses are being increased. The federal government is ramping up availability of the vaccine, allowing the state to order twice as many doses as a week ago, a trend that's expected to continue.
Associated Press material was used in this report.
