SHCS to administer FluMist today and tomorrow
KRT CampusIn lieu of injectable flu vaccines, which are in short supply nationwide, Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) will be administering FluMist to interested students during clinics today and tomorrow from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. in the SHCS offices.
FluMist, a nasal-administered alternative to the traditional injected flu vaccine, is a mist that contains three live flu virus strains, which have been weakened. The vaccine strains are designed to reproduce only in the nose, remaining in a weakened form that will not lead to a case of the flu. This triggers an immune system response in the body that helps prevent the flu for the entire season.
“Immediately after hearing that some of the injectable flu vaccine had been withdrawn, the first thing that we did here is contact the company that makes the FluMist vaccine and get on the waiting list to get as much of the vaccine as we could,” said Dr. Alan Glass, director of SHCS. “Because we were fairly early on that waiting list, we were able to get some.”
Possible side effects of the vaccine are minimal and include chills, a sore throat, headaches and weakness.
MedImmune Vaccines, Inc. is currently the only company that distributes FluMist, which is the first flu vaccine in the United States that is given as a nasal mist instead of a shot. The vaccine was licensed in 2003.
Healthcare providers such as private practitioners, private institutions like Washington University and medical companies running private flu clinics were eligible to apply for a number of FluMist doses. Administration of the injectable flu vaccine, Glass explained, was controlled by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention; however, there was no organized rationing of the FluMist vaccine.
While injectable forms of the flu vaccine contain dead flu virus strains, FluMist utilizes live virus strains to catalyze immunity. Because of the risk this poses to unhealthy individuals, not everyone is eligible for the vaccine.
“Only healthy individuals between five and 50 years old are eligible,” Glass said. “It’s a live virus vaccine, as opposed to a killed virus vaccine. The reason that you can’t give it to unhealthy people is if they were exposed to even a weakened live virus vaccine they would have a significant risk of becoming ill.”
People who are given the vaccine should not come into close contact with people who have immune system deficiencies for three weeks following the vaccination because of this risk. However, Glass said that University students living in close quarters in the dorms do not need to worry about infecting others.
“The people who would actually fit into that immunocompromised category would be…very severe diabetics, people who’ve recently been on chemotherapy or infected with HIV…and it would have to be really close contact,” Glass said. “I think our population, for the most part, are young, very healthy individuals. That risk is minimal.”
Despite the fact that the individuals most likely to contract the flu virus-those with deficient immune systems-are ineligible for the FluMist vaccine, Glass feels administering it to healthy students is worthwhile because it will help keep down the number of contagious students on campus, preventing the unhealthy students from contracting the flu as well.
“When you’re trying to prevent the potential spread of an illness, preventing healthy people from getting it and passing it on to unhealthy people is really a good thing from a public health standpoint. The less people who have the flu, the better,” Glass said.
He added that SHCS has approximately 80 doses of the FluMist vaccine-a supply which will probably be exhausted. University students interested in attending one of the FluMist clinics should report to the main registration desk of SHCS during one of the clinics to be directed to the location where the vaccine is being administered. There is a $20 charge for the vaccine.
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