Hoping to create a "Community of Immunity," the Elson Student Health Center will be offering students the opportunity to receive flu and meningitis vaccinations Thursday, Nov. 1, in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom.
Sandy Murray, nursing supervisor at Student Health, said she advises students to receive these inoculations for a number of reasons.
"The flu can hit hard and comes at one of the most inopportune times of the year - during exams," Murray said. "We also hope to keep students from transmitting it to family and friends when they go home for winter break."
The flu is a result of an infection of the respiratory tract by the influenza virus. Symptoms include muscle aches, fever and respiratory problems, with recovery time generally taking one to two weeks. Influenza is responsible for 100,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths each year in the United States.
Individuals over the age of 50 or those with diabetes, anemia or chronic heart, lung or kidney diseases are particularly susceptible to the disease.
The vaccine is highly effective with few side effects beyond mild soreness at the injection site. It is 70 to 90 percent successful at preventing the flu, although the influenza virus mutates constantly and last year's vaccine may not necessarily prevent this year's most common strains. Additionally, antibodies, which take approximately two weeks to form after inoculation, decline over time and often are weakened or depleted after a year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention project a supply of 79.1 million doses of the vaccine this year. There have been some delays in distribution, however, and Student Health may not receive more doses of the vaccine until late November or early December.
"It is so important for as many students as possible to come get vaccinated before flu season kicks in at the beginning of December," Murray said.
Murray hopes to surpass the 3,200 vaccinations administered by Student Health last year.
Murray also recommends that students receive the meningitis vaccination because of the high risk associated with living in cramped and highly-trafficked dormitories. Five cases of meningitis were found at the University in 1996, and Murray cites these incidences as further need to take the precaution of getting vaccinated. A recently enacted Virginia law also mandates all students enrolling in four-year universities to be inoculated against the disease.
Meningitis is an infection of the fluid surrounding the spinal cord or the brain. Both viral and the more dangerous bacterial meningitis, with a 10 percent fatality rate in infected persons, can be prevented by the vaccine.
Biology Professor David Kittlesen, a specialist in immunology and communicable diseases, said he believes it is beneficial, though not essential, for students to get the vaccinations. "For most students, the flu is not life-threatening," Kittlesen explained, "but it can really bring you down and affect your studies."
Kittlesen added that while he gets vaccinated some years and skips the inoculation others, "living in close quarters with others provides students an added incentive to get vaccinated."
The vaccinations will be available from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Nov. 1. The fees are $20 for the influenza shot and $85 for the meningitis vaccine. Students can pay with a major credit card, personal check or be billed at their home address.
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