Through a personal connection, Dr. Alan Glass has obtained a ration of injectable flu vaccine for Washington University students.
Glass, director of Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS), said the University tried to get a portion of the vaccine when it was originally distributed, but ran into bad luck-of the two suppliers who make the vaccine, the one the University had contacted was pulled from the market.
“We were able to obtain it finally because of a connection with folks at the Stanford University student health center,” said Glass, who knows the center’s director.
Because of the specific criteria students must meet in order to get the vaccination, Stanford had “a significant amount left” after offering the rations to interested students. They passed on 50 of the leftover doses to SHCS.
“They’d ordered all of their vaccine from the [supplier] that wasn’t pulled. We had bad luck, and they had good luck-and they were willing to share some of their good luck with us,” Glass said.
The University will follow the set of criteria established by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention when distributing the vaccine, Glass noted. In order to get the vaccine, students must qualify as “high-risk”-this including individuals with chronic medical conditions and healthcare workers involved in direct patient care.
Interested University students must meet one of the criteria before getting a shot. Flu clinics are being held daily Monday through Friday at the SHCS offices from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. The cost of the vaccine is $20.