Updated 11-05-09 at 7:31 p.m.: H1N1 Vaccinations are now available to all students
Student Health Services is currently distributing its first shipment of the swine flu vaccine in the Student Health Center.
The distribution began on Tuesday for athletes, campus police and nursing students.
“It was a little bit on the quiet side,” said Michael Carbuto, director of SHS. “It was surprising.”
Anybody living in university housing may receive the vaccine today and Friday. If there are still doses available on Friday, anybody under the age of 24 may get vaccinated.
“If we find out that we have doses left over, we’ll definitely open it up to other groups,” Carbuto said. “We want to get the vaccine out to as many people as we can.”
The SHS received 1,700 doses of the vaccine. There are approximately 22,000 Cal State Long Beach students under the age of 24 that are, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a priority for vaccination.
According to an e-mail sent to all faculty last Thursday, certain groups on campus will receive priority access to the vaccine. These groups include students living in university housing or in fraternity or sorority houses, student athletes, students with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, and Student Health Center and University Police employees.
Even though Carbuto said pregnant women are considered a priority to receive vaccination on campus, the e-mail did not include the group in the list.
“Pregnant students are a small population on campus and most have their own obstetricians,” Carbuto said via e-mail. “This population was not mentioned in the e-mail; however, pregnant students can definitely obtain the H1N1 vaccine through SHS.”
The e-mail also listed athletes as a priority group.
“Student-athletes practice three to four hours daily in close quarters and routinely share equipment and facilities, such as restrooms, locker rooms and training rooms,” Carbuto said. “Many athletes live in housing. Experience has shown that contagious diseases can spread quickly in this population.”
However, the fact that athletes could be in better shape than other students to fight off the flu is slightly unsettling to some.
“I’m not aware of anything about that [student athletes being a priority group],” said Michael Johnson, acting public information officer for Long Beach Public Health. “They may even be in such good shape; they might actually be healthier.”
The SHS is expecting more vaccines to arrive soon.
“LBPH has advised us that we will be getting more vaccine,” Carbuto said. “As more vaccine arrives, we will offer it to students 24 and under who do not fit into the original priority groups. For students who do not fit the priority groups, there are many H1N1 vaccine clinics being held in L.A. and Orange Counties.”
According to the Long Beach Health Department Web site, the health department will be holding a community-based H1N1 flu vaccine immunization clinic at the Long Beach Convention Center on Nov. 7.
The clinic will be free of charge and is not limited to those with certain health coverage. However, only priority groups will be served. The main priority group affecting CSULB is the age category of 6 months to 24 years of age.
“That’s the age group that we’re seeing most of the injury and illness,” Johnson said.
H1N1 vaccines may also be found at individual health care providers.
Wherever vaccines are being distributed, the supply is inferior to the demand.
