Not counting last-minute stragglers bearing late par-ental consent forms, 396 Kalihi Kai Elementary students went under the seasonal flu needle yesterday morning, along with 126 kids who took the vaccine in mist form via nasal spray.

There were few, if any, tears. Kids such as fourth-grader Marc Nunez, 9 — who expressed apprehension about getting his shot beforehand — calmly stroll-ed away afterward saying it didn't hurt much.

His secret: "Just look away when they do it," he said.

The occasion was the kickoff of "Protect Hawai'i's Keiki: Stop Flu at School," a program that is expected to inoculate more than 68,000 elementary and middle school students in 334 public, private and charter schools in Hawai'i through Dec. 3.

The school vaccination clinics are being provided by the state Department of Health in collaboration with numerous public and private schools, as well as health care providers and community partner groups.

In the midst of that vaccination effort, the DOH is getting ready to launch a second elementary and middle school program next month to vaccinate students for H1N1, otherwise known as swine flu.

"Other states haven't done something like this," said Gov. Linda Lingle, referring to the fact that two years ago, Hawai'i became the first state to offer free flu vaccine to elementary and middle school students statewide.

"That's why we're so well positioned for the H1NI (swine flu)" vaccination campaign, Lingle said.

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.

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."

Dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist, said the percentage of student participation has increased with each school vaccination clinic program.

"Based on our consent reviews, there definitely seems to be an increased interest among the kids," Park said. "And among the adults as well, actually. Because we also offer vaccinations to the school staff and faculty."

Last year, the total came to 62,000 students and 9,500 staff and teachers.

"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."

The student H1N1 vaccination campaign should run through January, Okubo said. The DOH hopes to vaccinate as many students in the swine flu campaign as it will in the seasonal flu program, she said.