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UH to offer free H1N1 vaccinations today

Editor in Chief

Published: Thursday, January 14, 2010

Updated: Thursday, January 14, 2010

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Brian Tseng

The H1N1 vaccine will be administered at the University Health Services clinic on campus.

University Health Services Mānoa (UHSM) is offering free H1N1 vaccine immunizations for current UH Mānoa students on a first-come, first-served basis today.

“We see this as part of our role here to improve the health status of students at UH Mānoa,” said Dr. Andrew Nichols, director of UHSM. “We wanted to take down any barriers people have to getting the immunization.”

Students who are younger than 25, pregnant, work in a health-care field, take care of infants younger than 6 months, or have a chronic health condition such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease are particularly advised to receive an immunization, but Nichols said all students should get the shot not only to protect themselves from H1N1 but to prevent the virus from spreading to others.

The clinic, on East-West Road by Kennedy Theatre, is offering the injection and not the nasal-spray version, Nichols said, because “there is a wider range of people who can take the shot.”

Nichols said he doesn’t know the exact number of injections available but that the UHSM “should be able to offer several hundred.”

UHSM has been offering the vaccine to students by appointment since December and will continue to offer it by appointment after the clinic tomorrow, according to Nichols.

UHM students who are younger than 18 must bring a consent form signed by a parent or legal guardian that they can pick up from UHSM in advanced.

Only urgent medical visits will be seen during the immunization clinic, according to a press release.

The immunization clinic is part of National Immunization Week from Jan. 10 to Jan. 16.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the H1N1 virus has affected young adults 19 to 24 especially hard in 2009 because young adults are usually around many different people.

The influenza virus peaks around January, according to the CDC.

The CDC estimates that there were about 47 million cases of H1N1 from April to Nov. 14 last year, and maybe as many as 67 million, with about 213,000 hospitalizations and 9,820 deaths due to H1N1.

 

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