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Lingle also reminded the students that it's important to be vaccinated for both the seasonal and H1N1 flu strains.
Eventually, she said, the Department of Health and the Hawai'i National Guard would be administering swine flu vaccine to the general public statewide.
"It's not just going to be children, or course," Lingle said. "It will be everybody."
The day after the state received its first batch of H1N1 flu vaccine, a Hawaii County Council committee Tuesday advanced a resolution opposing mandatory vaccination of the populace.
The Committee on Human Services and Economic Development voted 6-1 in favor of the resolution allowing people to refuse the swine flu vaccine, or any other vaccine containing certain ingredients or of known health risk, on medical, religious or philosophical grounds.
Committee Chairwoman Emily Naeole, of Puna, sponsored the measure, which now goes to the council for final approval before being forwarded to state and federal officials. She said constituents are concerned that the federal Model State Emergency Health Powers Act repeals long-standing federal exemptions from mandatory vaccinations.
The act gives public health officials the power to vaccinate all Americans over 6 months old in an emergency, such as the Level 6 flu pandemic declared by the World Health Organization on June 11.
Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong noted that the county has no power to change the situation. It can only voice its opinion, he said.
"The county has absolutely no control over the decisions on something like this," Yagong said. "This is going to be a lot bigger, a lot greater than the Hawaii County Council."
"The Committee on Human Services and Economic Development voted 6-1 in favor of the resolution allowing people to refuse the swine flu vaccine, or any other vaccine containing certain ingredients or of known health risk, on medical, religious or philosophical grounds.
The governor was at the school in part to remind students that their parents would soon be receiving another consent form — this one for the H1N1 vaccination program. Lingle encouraged students and parents to read the forms and, if they are comfortable with it, to sign it and mail it back.
Everyone who would like to be vaccinated will be able to do so as more H1N1 vaccine supplies are received. Vaccination is voluntary.
Lingle also reminded the students that it's important to be vaccinated for both the seasonal and H1N1 flu strains.
Eventually, she said, the Department of Health and the Hawai'i National Guard would be administering swine flu vaccine to the general public statewide.
"It's not just going to be children, or course," Lingle said. "It will be everybody."
Thanks... but what is the national guard doing in all of this? And they should clarify it... when she say ``It will be everybody``... she should say ``It will be everybody who wants it``... Sorry for the confusion.
"I can tell you that in past years we have vaccinated about 43 percent of the kids in Hawai'i ages 5 to 15. And it looks like we will definitely surpass that this year."
Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, said one reason the percentage for the free vaccination program isn't higher is because a substantial percentage of parents have their children vaccinated before the beginning of the school year.
"Some parents prefer to take their kids to a private physician," Okubo said. "We would certainly like to break the 50 percent mark, and we're hoping that's going to happen this year."