Rationing H1N1 Vaccine to Elementary Students Favors Students Held Back, Disadvantages Gifted Students

Rockford, Ill - A recent program to give swine flu vaccines to high risk and elementary students has come under fire when it became apparent that the program as written favored dimmer students who had been held back several grades and disadvantaged gifted students who had advanced several grades.

Basing the distribution on the idea that younger students were at the most risk, the program rules only stated that children with high risk medical conditions or those 5th grade or below could get the vaccine. But due to the significant number of under performing students being held back, pupils up to age 15 have been made eligible for the vaccine, while several gifted preteens find themselves ineligible for the shot. Anna Martez, whose son Rodrigo was advanced twice and is now in 7th grade, said she was shocked her son couldn't get the shot at a recent vaccine event.

"I brought him in to get the shot, but the administrator said that he was ineligible because he wasn't an elementary student. I explained he was moved ahead, but she said that if he's so smart he should be able to find a way to get one by other means," Martez said.

Several parents of the held back students defended the program, stating that their children were at as much risk as the rest of the students and they needed the extra help. Leslie DeBlonde said her fourteen year-old son Ned was in a special situation because of his responsiblities at home.

"Ned ain't the brightest boy, and I've always told him he didn't need no education to succeed, despite what his teachers may say. But he can't be affording to be sick because he got's his new baby boy Johnny to take care of. His baby momma got ill with the flu a week back and he's got to watch him so she can get better," DeBlonde said.

Special education advocate Jarrod Martin argued that several of the children held back, while not suffering mental disabilities that would account for their low performance, should be treated as special cases and favoring gifted children would be discriminatory.

"Look, these children shouldn't be discriminated against just because they haven't committed themselves to school. There are several held back children in middle school not getting the vaccine either and the gifted children should feel lucky they were blessed with smarts and good parenting. Besides, if they were really smart they'd be working in medical fields like Doogie Howser and be eligible for it anyway. I'm tired of hearing these uppity gifted children thinking they are special or something," Martin said.