Free flu shot program ends in Miami-Dade public schools, but one city is pushing back
Public school students in Miami-Dade County will not be offered free vaccines this flu season for the first time in three years.
The end of the free flu shot program was not publicly announced by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. City leaders in Miami Beach caught wind of the districtwide change only after seeing public Facebook posts by parents concerned about the change.
Miami Beach Commissioner Mark Samuelian called the abrupt cancellation of the program a “public health issue” and said he planned to introduce an item during the city’s Jan. 15 commission meeting to direct the city to pay for flu vaccines for public school students in Miami Beach.
“I’m concerned because many of our children in the community have depended on those flu shots and those flu shots have helped keep kids healthier,” he said.
The school district began offering flu shots during school hours at no cost to students, with parental consent, and staff during the 2016-17 school year, said district spokeswoman Daisy Gonzalez-Diego. It also offered the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, also known as whooping cough) and varicella vaccinations were also offered to sixth-graders. The Tdap booster is required by Florida law before a child enters 7th grade.
Flu shots are not mandatory, and school districts are not required to offer any vaccines.
Those vaccines were administered by Healthy Schools LLC, a Jacksonville-based company started by former Jacksonville Jaguars player Tony Boselli to reduce school absenteeism, according to its website. Healthy Schools says it bills patients’ insurance companies and doesn’t charge a copay. Its website features a positive testimony from former Duval County Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, who once served as chief academic officer in Miami-Dade.
Gonzalez-Diego said the district reached out to Healthy Schools over the summer to arrange vaccinations for the coming school year, but said the vendor, after not responding to multiple requests, told the district it was no longer cost effective and would discontinue the service around the state.
In an email sent Aug. 29, Christine Gannelli, a representative from Healthy Schools, announced it was discontinuing its in-school flu shot clinics for the 2019-20 school year.
“Unfortunately, due to low turnout across the country and lower than expected parent consents for this year’s upcoming flu clinics, we’ve been forced to re-evaluate the sustainability of the program,” Gannelli wrote. “Simply put, the growing cost of running free flu shot clinics has made it impossible for Healthy Schools to continue the program in Florida this year.”
Gonzalez-Diego said schools were advised that the vaccination services would not be offered in the 2019-2020 school year. Parents, she said, were advised to contact their medical care provider.
She added that the district is seeking vendors who can offer flu vaccines for the 2020-21 school year.
“Despite an aggressive awareness and communications campaign about our Teach Flu a Lesson campaign, a small percentage of students chose to take advantage of this free service,” Gonzalez-Diego wrote in an email. “Notwithstanding, Miami-Dade County Public Schools remains committed to ensuring the health and well-being of all of our students.”
Samuelian said his office was in communication with the district to allow Miami Beach to pay for its own vaccine program.
“We’re hopeful that this will come together because it’s the right thing to do for the kids,” Samuelian said. “We have communicated to the school board that the city of Miami Beach would like to fund this vaccine for the schools here in Miami Beach. We are hopeful that they will take us up on that offer.”
He said he expected to see “multiple” commissioners agree to back his item. Mayor Dan Gelber said he would support such a proposal.
“I think it’s vital and important to have access to vaccines at schools,” he said.
During the 2018-19 school year, 16,780 students — almost 5% of the district’s total enrollment — took advantage of the free vaccines. At South Point Elementary, 39 students participated out of a student body of 549.
Healthy Schools LLC did not respond to the Miami Herald’s request for comment.
Monica Matteo-Salinas, the advocacy chair for the parent teacher association at South Pointe Elementary School in Miami Beach, said she only found out about the end of the flu-shot program via Facebook.
She has two kids at the school, in fifth and third grades, but they receive their flu shots at the pediatrician’s office. For families who cannot afford to visit the doctor for the vaccines, canceling the program without a public announcement is a “concern,” she said.
“Which is why I’m glad the city is stepping up,” she said. “I appreciate everything that the city and Mayor Gelber does to help our schools and our children. It really does take a village and our village always steps up.”
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