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Despite lower cost, interest in flu
mist is down
In light of a nationwide
vaccine shortage, health officials offer alternative
By Stephanie Orr
With flu
season looming in the near future, the University of Illinois at
Springfield has taken several steps to protect the campus
community from an outbreak, despite the nation wide vaccine
shortage.
In order to offer protection to members of the
campus community who are ineligible for the traditional flu
vaccine this year, UIS gave interested students and employees
the option of ordering the intranasal flu vaccine, commonly
called FluMist, at a cost of $20 for students and $25 for
employees.
The announcement, distributed by campus wide
e-mail on Oct. 20, came after health services had received many
inquiries from people concerned about the vaccine shortage.
However, the response to the
offer was not as wide spread as was anticipated by Lynne Price,
director of campus health services.
At the deadline only 20 requests
had come in. Two more were called in after the deadline, but the
order had already been placed and those people had to be turned
down.
“I was sort of surprised we only got 20 calls,”
Price said.
UIS has already received the
special container in which the vaccine must be stored and
expects the actual vaccine order to arrive any day, according to
Price.
The intranasal flu vaccine was
licensed in 2003, and contains live, but weakened, influenza
virus which is administered through the nose rather than by
injection, according to the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Price said that the FluMist is
not known to cause any more of a reaction than the traditional
flu shot.
“Any person who gets any type of
vaccine can expect some slight reaction,” Price said. She also
stated that people often feel that they’ve fallen ill after
receiving a vaccine, but it usually isn’t the vaccine making
them feel ill.
The FluMist vaccine was offered nation wide last
year, but Price said that it was not especially popular due to
its high cost, which was about $50 per dose. This year,
however, the intranasal vaccine is receiving more attention due
to the traditional flu vaccine shortage and reduced cost.
UIS received 600 doses of the traditional flu
shot vaccine, but the university only administered 300 in
accordance with new CDC regulations established in response to
the vaccine shortage. Under the CDC’s new rules the traditional
flu shot is to be used only for those people identified as high
risk.
The remaining 300 doses of the traditional shot
will remain available, until about the first week in December,
for members of the campus community in the high risk category
who have not received the vaccine this year, said Price.
After that Price intends to offer the remaining
doses to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC
has about 12,000 people on campus who meet the high risk
criteria, but they did not receive any vaccine this year,
according to Price.
If UIUC does not want the doses they will then
be offered to the Department of Public Health.
“I don’t know what to expect this year,” Price
said. Already there has been one case of influenza reported in
Springfield, and Price said a couple of students have come to
health services reporting symptoms of the flu.
According to Price students, especially those
who were unable to get a flu vaccine, need to be cautious. She
recommended that people frequently wash their hands to avoid
spreading germs.
An alternative to frequent hand washing is the
use of alcohol gel, which is just as effective when used
properly. Price said that the gel is affordably priced and can
be bought at most stores.
Counselor’s Corner
Sarah Triplett
UIS Counseling Center Graduate Assistant
It’s that time of year again where studying for exams becomes an
understatement, because finals, the most dreaded of all exams,
are upon us. Some students are lucky and only have one or two
finals to prepare for; other students suffer through three or
more exams. It is during this stressful time that one must
stop, take a deep breath, and educate themselves on time
management, exam stress, and test anxiety, all of which can play
a major role in one’s success on an exam.
In the midst of planning for an
exam, students must remember to give themselves adequate time to
prepare. Test cramming only increases anxiety towards the
material not effectively studied and only increases the chances
of not doing so well on an exam. Students should allow
themselves days to prepare for an exam and give themselves
breaks throughout studying.
Students should think of their
brains as computers and too much information at one time will
crash their programs. It is often good to study up until a
certain point and then sleep on it; waking up and starting again
more refreshed allows a student to retain more information.
This extended period of studying, instead of cramming lets
students remember more information because they have alleviated
much anxiety, since they are more prepared.
Students need to remember to
have an effective environment to study in; this includes
adequate lighting and a space with little noise. On the day of
the exam, it is a good idea to eat a well-balanced meal. This
added fuel helps our brains perform better and will affect the
outcome of their results overall. Test anxiety only increases
when we are not prepared, and poor preparation leads to higher
levels of stress.
High levels of stress affect our
productivity, since we are not able to concentrate as well, it
disrupts our sleep, affects our eating habits, and often our
bodies are more susceptible to illness because stress wears down
our immune system.
So, now is the time for UIS
students to prepare, manage your time wisely, and study
effectively, so you avoid high stress levels and anxiety during
exam time. If you find yourself experiencing extreme levels of
stress and anxiety, please contact the UIS Counseling Center at
206-7122 or stop by SAB 30 for more information and help. Good
luck on exams!
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