Bloomberg, NYC, to Provide Free Flu Shots to All School Children

Mayor Bloomberg announced his plan to provide free flu shots to all city school children yesterday. The program will be administered by school nurses in the form of a nasal spray, both during school hours and on weekends.

The free vaccine is an effort to stop the spread of the swine flue and curb panic among the public. This comes after the White House recently stated that up to half the county could become infected with the serious H1N1 virus.

In addition to the vaccine, the city is implementing additonal measures to keep the public protected against the swine flu such as:

- putting information about the number of flu cases in a particular school on the internet.

- a marketing campaign on subways and buses to help spread information.

- health consultations through 311.

The website tracker of flue cases can be found: www.nyc.gov/flu.