IMMUNIZATIONS FROM GROUND ZERO - LESSONS LEARNED IN URBAN MIDDLE SCHOOLS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded a three-year dem onstration project in San Francisco to assess the feasibility of a lar ge-scale school-based vaccination effort. The project overcame a numbe r of barriers, including lack of pre-existing health services diversit y of home languages, and an every-50-minute-bell schedule. The project targeted seventh graders and all special education students for hepat itis B vaccine (HBVac). Of 4,928 students targeted, 3,509 (71%) consen ted to vaccination and received the first dose. Of these 3,509 student s, 3,256 (93%) completed the three-dose series at school. Key lessons learned include emphasizing a collaborative process in the planning st age, offering an educational component for students, providing an ince ntive to get timely parental consent, planning distribution and collec tion of parent materials, and planning vaccination clinics to minimize interrupting the school day. The project clearly demonstrated that, w ith sufficient attention to political and logistical dimensions, schoo l-based vaccination programs are possible in large urban schools.