Health Center: Flu vaccine stock almost depleted

It’s still not too late to get a flu shot from the IU Health Center, but it’s getting close.

The Health Center receives about 6,000 flu vaccines a year, and they’ve used most of them already, said Dr. Diana Ebling, medical director at IU Health Center.

This year, the dominant strain is an influenza A strain H1N1, which first appeared 2009 when there was a flu pandemic. It’s more harmful to young adults than anyone else.

“It seems that children and young adults who don’t get vaccinated have less immunity built up to protect themselves against this strain,” Ebling said.

She said it’s hard to predict which strains will dominate the season.

“The strains of the flu that circulate every year can vary,” Ebling said.

Dr. Michael Hamilton, a primary care physician with IU Health, said getting vaccinated does two things.

“One, it decreases the risk of the person transmitting it to another individual, some people may not have the flu but they may just be a carrier,” he said. “It also reduces the risk of a person developing the flu, which is a terrible thing and can ruin one or two weeks of your life by being sick in bed all the time.”

The common symptoms of the flu are coughing, a sore throat and a fever. It lasts four to seven days.

The vaccine costs $20 for health fee students and $24 for non-health fee students, faculty and staff, Ruellen Fessenbeck, immunization charge nurse with the Health Center, said.

“The flu shot takes 10 days to two weeks to work,” Fessenbeck said, which is why they usually recommend that students get vaccinated in the fall.

A report released by the Center for Disease Control in December estimated that about 79,000 hospitalizations and 6.6 million illnesses were prevented with the flu vaccine last season.

But despite the benefits of the vaccine, fewer than half of Americans have gotten vaccinated so far this season.

“The single most important thing a person can do is to get vaccinated,” Ebling said.
Ebling said to avoid the flu, in addition to getting a vaccination, students should stay away from people with a fever or a cough, if possible.

Students should also wash hands frequently and keep them away from their face.
For those who already have the flu, Ebling said to stay away from class until they haven’t had a fever for 24 hours.

“If the fever is not controlled by medicines like Advil and Tylenol, or if you are really having trouble dealing with the symptoms, then you could come to the Health Center and ask to see a doctor,” Fessenbeck said.

Students can come to the Health Center for a vaccination between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Every year we see many cases of flu,” Fessenbeck said. “Once in a while it can be pretty serious and lead to hospitalization, so it is worth it to get the flu shot.”