Although it was first reported that UConn would obtain the swine flu vaccine in mid-October, it probably won't be available until November, at which point large-scale clinics will be put in place for students at no cost.
Michael Kurland, director of student health services, said that the vaccine is just like getting a regular flu shot, except the mix is simply targeted to a different strain of the flu: H1N1.
It is unclear where the vaccination clinics will be held, since the university hasn't been told how many vaccines they will be getting from the state, nor when they will be arriving, Kurland said.
"We asked for 20,000, but we don't know how many we'll actually get," Kurland said. "My best guess is sometime in November."
The vaccine won't be available to faculty and staff, since many of them can get it from their private physicians, and the target at risk group is under the age of 24, Kurland said. There are only about 6,000 staff members to give the vaccines, so that also limits the amount of people the university can vaccinate, he explained.
The regular seasonal flu clinic held last week vaccinated more than 1,700 people in two days, Kurland said. Many clinics like this would be necessary to accommodate the roughly 20,000 students at UConn who may opt for the shot.
The vaccine isn't 100 percent effective, but the chances of getting H1N1 after getting the shot are small, just as with regular flu shots, according to Kurland.
The pandemic planning committee hopes that most students who contract the virus will simply go home, but if they can't, they should call Student Health Services and have an advice nurse decide what they should do over the phone rather than visiting the infirmary. Students can call either (860) 486-4700 or (860) 486-3427 for a nurse's assessment.
Transportation services can arrange a ride to the infirmary if a check-up is needed, thus avoiding spreading the virus on a bus or sitting in the infirmary's waiting room, Kurland explained.
"It would really tax the system if everyone came in to see the doctor or nurse practitioner," Kurland said.
This aligns with the new policy of not having to get a check-up and a doctor's note to be excused from class. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that universities remove obstacles to students getting out of class, in order to prevent sick students going to class or overwhelming campus medical facilities for notes, Kurland said.
About 100 students have reported H1N1 or influenza-like illness (ILI) since Aug. 30. The infirmary doesn't test everyone with flu symptoms for swine flu to reduce the number of patients seeing doctors.
This number isn't too alarming, Kurland said, since some schools have had outbreaks of as many as 2,500 cases in a week. As a state, Connecticut hasn't had a big influx of cases, and therefore UConn's low number is reflective of what's happening statewide, Kurland said.
"Ours has been a slow and gentle climb," Kurland said.
For students who do get out of class with ILI or H1N1, but have no way to go home, there are options available for the few days that the virus will last. The period needed is usually only about three days, but isolated on-campus apartments are available. ResLife has designated certain areas for students to go and Dining Services will deliver meals to these sick students while they are there. These locations aren't going to be made public so that students don't fear that they are in an apartment with the swine-flu-infected and panic, Kurland said.
Students in the apartments will be given flu kits of hand sanitizer, a thermometer, Advil, Tylenol and a surgical mask in case the patient comes in contact with other people.
"Ideally not everyone is going to become sick at once, so we're hoping to be able to stretch our available rooms to be accommodating anyone who might need it," Kurland said.
Be the first to comment on this article!