Introduction

Each year, millions of children get sick with seasonal influenza, an illness more dangerous than the common cold. The flu vaccine offers the best defense against getting the flu and spreading it to others and is recommended annually for all individuals 6 months and older. It can reduce flu illnesses, doctor’s visits, missed work and school days, and prevent flu-related hospitalizations and deaths.

Achoo the Flu Germ

School-located influenza vaccination (SLIV) can address challenges faced by health care providers to vaccinate large numbers of children in a short window of time by bringing vaccine to where children are. A school-located program makes influenza vaccination an easier choice for parents and caregivers by addressing vaccination barriers, including taking time off of work or school, communication about the vaccine, and children’s resistance to vaccination. Vaccinating at school directly benefits immunized children and the resulting herd immunity provides indirect protection to the unimmunized and the broader community. Research shows such programs are associated with reduced influenza-like illness and reduced absenteeism during flu season.

The items in this toolkit are intended to support school districts, local health departments and other community organizations interested in implementing an SLIV program. This content was developed through the implementation of an SLIV program in Oakland, California called Shoo the Flu®. Shoo the Flu began in 2014 and is a partnership of the Alameda County Public Health Department, the Oakland Unified School District and the California Department of Public Health. For Oakland schools interested in the Alameda County Shoo the Flu program, please visit shootheflu.org/alameda or contact the Alameda County Flu Vaccine Immunization Program at (510) 267-3230 or email Immunize@acgov.org. For questions about this toolkit, please contact info@theflulab.org.

Shoo the Flu® is a registered trademark of Shoo the Flu, LLC in the United States and other countries. Except for the limited attribution right (see below), you may not use the Shoo the Flu trademark without the express permission of Shoo the Flu, LLC. If you would like to use the Shoo the Flu trademark in connection with the materials made available as part of this toolkit, please contact info@theflulab.org.

Using this toolkit

Resources are provided in Word, PDF, Powerpoint and/or design file formats at the end of each section and can be downloaded by clicking on the applicable link:

All of the work and templates in this Toolkit are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike 40. International License. This means programs and individuals interested in school-located vaccination are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, however you may not use the material for commercial purposes. You may also adapt it to meet your specific needs but you must make your new version available to others under the same license. Finally, reasonable attribution is also a key part of this Creative Commons license and we would love for you to spread the word that your materials are inspired by Shoo the Flu. We have included fine print language to this effect on many of the materials.

You may also use the following code to add attribution to your website:

Use on Light Backgrounds

<div class="stf-link" style="color: #000; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; padding: 10px;">Inspired by <a href="https://shootheflu.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #666; font-weight: 800;">Shoo the Flu</a></div>

Use on Dark Backgrounds

<div class="stf-link" style="color: #fff; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; padding: 10px;">Inspired by <a href="https://shootheflu.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #ccc; font-weight: 800;">Shoo the Flu</a></div>