Students and faculty at EC accustomed to their annual discounted flu shot from the health center may be disappointed to learn that there are no vaccines available this year.
“People who aren’t getting the flu shot are in a panic state,” coordinator of student health services Debbie Conover said.
This year, due to a nationwide shortage of flu vaccine, the health center is unable to give vaccinations because it did not receive a shipment. Instead, it received a letter saying that they would not be delivered for the upcoming flu season.
“We have given flu shots in the past several years; however, because we’re not considered a high-risk population, the vaccine didn’t come,” Conover said.
In previous years, the health center has ordered about 300 doses of flu vaccine for students and administered them at a price of $10 for students and $15 for staff and non-students from about October through December.
“I’m not really concerned about getting (the flu). I’ve never gotten the vaccine before and it’s not on my priority list,” Ashleyanne Jones, English major, said.
“I think there is a lot of hype around getting the shot and I just think it’s unnecessary,” Jones said.
Conover says that with the flu season going on through the winter session and with the shortage of vaccines, the health center anticipates seeing cases of the flu virus in the coming months.
“I don’t think we’re starting to see the flu yet, but we should see it any day now because it is flu season to about February,” Conover said.
Because flu vaccines are limited to seniors, young children and the ill, Conover urges that people take other common preventive measures to prevent acquiring the virus.
These include measures such as washing hands frequently, eating a balanced diet, exercising and taking multivitamins.
One student using such preventive measures is 47-year-old Damian Escalante, accounting major, who washes his hands, stays hydrated and stays away from people with the flu to avoid getting sick.
“I think that the vaccine only helps protect you from one strain of the flu; in my opinion, the best way to not get sick is to use common sense,” Escalante said.
The flu vaccine shortage materialized in October when Brittish vaccine maker Chiron Corporation announced that because of contamination problems it would be unable to provide its 48 million doses, almost half of the amount needed in the U.S. Despite the shortage no serious health problems are expected.
