The swine flu saga seems to come into and go out of students' minds every few weeks. But the threat hasn't ever left, it has just been slipping under the radar occasionally.
It's still a danger; ruining a week or two of some of our lives or even forcing us into dropping our classes and ruining the whole semester. It has already infected a few people at Ball State University. It's doubtful any of them would speak favorably of catching H1N1.
Health officials have been advising us to take precautions and get vaccinated as soon as the shots or nose sprays are ready. The first batch is ready and Delaware County received 1,100 doses on Tuesday.
Ball State requested 8,000 vaccinations, but Kent Bullis, director of the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, said he wasn't sure if the university would receive all of them. As of Tuesday evening, they hadn't been delivered to campus. We can only hope for the leftovers of the first shipment.
For those of us fortunate or careful enough to stay away from the virus up to this point, we need to wait only a few more weeks. About 40 million doses are expected to be in circulation by mid-October. Hopefully, by the time all the vaccinations are shipped and administered, it's enough to help everybody, or at least everybody on campus.
Pregnant women, health care providers, anyone six months to 24 years old, and anyone 25 to 64 years old with chronic illnesses are the top priorities to receive the vaccination. Even though college students are more likely to spread the virus, authorities need to make sure to keep everyone from getting swine flu. This batch is especially for health care providers. Each one could be exposed to hundreds or even thousands of people with the virus before the season is over.
It would be ideal to get more of the initial batch, but a lot of people need to be vaccinated just as much, if not more, than we do. We only have to wait until the middle of the month. Just hold out until then. Keep covering your mouths when you cough and sneeze, washing your hands compulsively, taking your vitamins and eating your vegetables.
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