Delaware County's Health Department got a shipment of 1,100 doses of the H1N1 vaccine Tuesday, but it's going to be a little while longer until Ball State University students will be able to get vaccinated.
Kent Bullis, director of the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, said he doesn't know when Ball State will get a shipment of the vaccine or how many doses the university will get.
The department expects to get weekly increments of the vaccine and Ball State's Health Center will hopefully get a percentage of whatever is leftover each week, Delaware County Health Department's Preparedness Coordinator Susan Morris said.
Ball State will hopefully start receiving shipments within the next week. It's not clear how many people within the community will want to be vaccinated so the number of doses Ball State will receive is unknown, Morris said.
Health care providers and medical technicians, pregnant women, people with young children and people 25 to 64 years old with a chronic illness are considered to be the top priority to get the vaccine. Another target group are six month olds to 24 year olds, which most students in, Morris said.
"Students are believed to be the main spreaders because they're in close quarters," Bullis said. "[The vaccine] is to benefit students and keep them from being infected."
Health care providers will get first priority for the vaccine, though, and several private providers, like pediatricians, are also expecting to receive a portion the vaccines.
Part of the issue as to when the vaccine will be available to students is that the Health Department can't request how many doses of the vaccine they want, Morris said. Instead, the state of Indiana will choose how many doses Delaware County needs each week, she said.
"We don't anticipate a shortage," she said. "Just in the beginning [the vaccine shipments are] coming in smaller increments. There's still a lot of unknown on what's to come."
Once Ball State gets a shipment of the vaccine, the Health Center intends to make extra efforts to make sure students who want to be protected can get the vaccination, Bullis said. In addition to the Health Center, alternative locations in the Arts and Journalism Building and the L.A. Pittenger Student Center will likely be set up for students to get the H1N1 vaccine, he said.
The seasonal flu vaccine is already available for students in the Health Center and costs $17.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
