Swine flu shots will be given to Pearl River Central school students, grades kindergarten through 12th grade, on Saturday at the elementary school auditorium on the McNeill campus, said school officials and Dr. James M. Riser, who is in charge of the operation.

Riser Medical Associates has adopted all three Pearl River County school systems in connection with administering the swine flu shots. Dr. Riser’s personnel managed operations at the Poplarville school system on Nov. 16 and 17, and will be managing operations at PRC on Saturday. Dr. Riser’s office also is scheduled to offer the shots on Saturday, Dec. 12, for the Picayune school system.

Officials announced the following schedule for shots to be given on Saturday at McNeill:

Lower Elementary 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; Upper Elementary, 10:30 a.m. to noon; Middle School, noon to 1:30 p.m.; and high school, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The vaccinations given on Saturday at the Elementary Auditorium on the McNeill campus will be for Pearl River County school district students only. The Pearl River County school district oversees and manages the Pearl River Central schools at Carriere and McNeill.

The inoculations offered on Saturday will be the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine. It will be given by injection only, officials said.

There is no charge to the student or his guardians for the shot.

Officials said the student must be accompanied by a parent or guardian with a signed permission slip in order to receive the shot. Officials said that permission slips will be available at the auditorium on Saturday.

Guardians who received a permission slip from their child must bring it to the vaccination site on Saturday.

School officials and Dr. Riser said that it is not mandatory for a student to receive the shot, but they said that health officials “highly recommended” that all students be vaccinated.

Riser said that the swine flu vaccine is just as safe as the regular, seasonal flu vaccine, that the same companies manufactured both and that the vaccinations will be given under the same conditions as regular vaccinations.