Ball State University hasn't yet received swine flu vaccines, but the lack of these flu shots will not change the number of students at risk for the virus, Kent Bullis, medical director of the health center, said.
The news:
The Amelia T. Wood Health Center has not yet received doses of the swine flu vaccines. The health center was supposed to receive vaccines for H1N1 in the middle of October, but production levels are lower than anticipated, causing the shortage, Bullis said.
So what?
Bullis said he is concerned about how student's' health will be affected by the lack of vaccines available.
"One concern with the flu is [that] it always seems to spread faster when the weather is cold," he said. "My largest concern is that people will get the flu before the vaccine is available."
A student's perspective:
Clarissa Bowers, a sophomore communications major, said she is worried about the delay in getting the vaccine.
Bowers said she was going to get the vaccine because she gets sick easily. It is very frustrating seeing everyone getting sick with H1N1, she said.
What's next:
The Board of Health at the health center does not know when they will receive the vaccine, but Bullis said he expects to receive the vaccine in the next few weeks. The Delaware Health Department will decide how many vaccines Ball State University will receive when they are available.
If more students become sick, Bullis said, the university's administration board will initiate its flu pandemic plan. This would require the university to cancel classes until the pandemic is over.
In the state:
There have been seven confirmed deaths from the H1N1 virus in Indiana, said Melissa Dexter, public information officer at the Indiana State Department of Health Department, said.
Two of the deaths were reported during the week of Oct. 11.
Last week, Burris Laboratory Schools, a K-12 school that is part of Ball State University's Teachers College, was closed for several days because of a high number of students had flu symptoms.
Twenty-seven27 schools in Indiana had an absentee rate of 20 percent or higher during the week of Oct. 11, according to Tthe Indiana State Department of Health's Departments's most recent influenza surveillance summary.
Weekly updates from the Indiana State Department of Health Department are posted every Wednesday. Go to in.gov/flu for the most recent statistics about influenza in Indiana.
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