In preparation for flu season, state officials yesterday announced the kickoff of a statewide program aimed at vaccinating Hawai'i public and private school students.

The $2.5 million program, Protect Hawai'i's Keiki: Stop Flu at School, will offer free flu shots and nasal spray vaccines to schoolchildren ages 5 to 13. The shots and sprays will be administered at 337 public and private school statewide over the next few months.

Participating schools will distribute information packets and consent forms to parents this week. Consent forms must be returned to schools by Sept. 5.

"The flu is a very serious illness," said Department of Health director Chiyome Fukino. "It is much more significant than the common cold. Getting a flu vaccination is a wonderful way for us to prevent this disease."

Fukino said the program hopes to reach half of the elementary and middle school students this year.

"We are pleading to parents to help us achieve this goal," she said.

The program, now in its second year, vaccinated more than 60,451 elementary and middle school students last year. That amounts to about 41 percent of total students in the 5-to-13 age group. The program also helped more than 9,222 school faculty and staff get vaccinated.

Children who didn't participate last year may have already been vaccinated, made plans with their physicians to get vaccinated or did not feel that a vaccination was necessary, Fukino said.

The program offered multiple clinics at some schools last year, but will offer just one clinic at each school this year. That's because "very few children require a second dose," Fukino said. She encourages those who need a second dose to see their physician.

Last year, Hawai'i became the first state to offer a program providing free vaccines to children, a product of a partnership between the state Department of Health, the Department of Education, the Hawai'i Association of Independent Schools and Hawai'i Catholic Schools, among other organizations.

The program helped earn the state an award at the National Influenza Vaccines Summit in March for best overall season activity.

Hawai'i experienced a very mild flu season last year. "We would hope that the program contributed to the decrease in illnesses," Fukino said in a news release.

Nationally, flu viruses continue to cause high rates of absenteeism and hospitalizations among children. The CDC reports that between January and June, more than 80 children across the nation have died from flu-related illnesses.

Hawai'i has not seen any flu-related deaths this year.

Last year, the Stop Flu at School program was funded mostly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal health agency.

Federal funding decreased this year, but private groups have stepped up to help finance the program.

The Hawai'i Medical Service Association has made a significant contribution to the program, Fukino said.

Cliff Cisco, HMSA senior vice president, said the nonprofit organization felt compelled to contribute because about half of the students getting immunized last year were HMSA members.

Cisco believes that allowing children to get their shots or sprays at school instead of at their physician's office is more convenient for parents and students, and will dramatically reduce the spread of flu-related illnesses.

Carmen Himenes, superintendent of Catholic Schools of Hawai'i, said the clinics did not disrupt school operations last year and were "highly successful."

"The program went very smoothly and was very easily run. The people that came in to administer it were highly professional," she said.