H1N1 vaccines arrive

By Scott Norgaard     1/21/10 6:00pm

Last week, Rice caught the participation bug spawned by the Center for Disease Control's National Influenza Vaccination Week. The Rice administration, which footed the bill for about 850 vaccinations, offered vaccinations for students, faculty and retirees who showed up in the Kelley Lounge of the Ley Student Center last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.The vaccines were supplied by Walgreens Pharmacy, which gave Rice a bill after the shots were administered.

Since the H1N1 flu virus strand hit last fall, the administration has been taking measures to protect students and staff.

"All indications were that we are not going to see [H1N1] going away," Director of Benefits Elaine Britt said.

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Britt said the administration viewed these vaccines as an investment.

"If we can keep faculty, staff and students healthy, the campus will function better," Britt said.

These vaccines are a part of the university's steps to curtail the advancement of the H1N1 flu. According to a university statement, the university has already taken measures to protect students by putting up alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers, instructing the cleaning staff to take extra care while cleaning surfaces and putting up posters illustrating the dangers of the flu.

Britt said the elderly have a high priority for receiving vaccines, as they are usually the most susceptible to the mainstream strand of the flu. However, the H1N1 flu, more commonly known as swine flu, targets a different group, Britt said.

"Actually, the swine flu is opposite the normal flu," Britt said. "The normal, healthy people are being hit the hardest."

Students who already received a normal flu vaccine are not protected against swine flu, and will need to receive a vaccine specifically for H1N1, Britt said. The reason for this double vaccination, Britt said, is that strains of swine flu appeared after the general flu vaccines were already being produced.

Britt said manufacturers are likely to bundle the swine flu vaccine with the normal strand in the future, eliminating the need for separate shots.

Britt also said students who already had the swine flu would not necessarily benefit from a vaccine. Normal flu vaccines are available through Health Services at a cost, and swine flu vaccines can be purchased from the Walgreens located in Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza for around $20, Britt said.

Because of the small number of flu shots relative to the size of the Rice community, not all students elected to receive shots.

"I didn't get the swine flu shot because there was already a probability I had swine flu," Sid Richardson College freshman Markos Muñoz said. "I didn't want to take five minutes out of my day to potentially save my life."

Still, many other students took advantage of the free vaccine, including Sid Rich freshman Peter Kamel.

"I guess that living all together in college, it is really easy to catch it since people are so close together," Kamel said. "Since it's free, there is nothing to lose.

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