Olivia Obineme

By Olivia Obineme

TU journalism student | Sept. 29, 2009

The Dowell Health Center annual seasonal flu vaccination event ended early because of a shortage of doses, Tuesday, Sept. 22.

A student receives her seasonal flu shot. 1,600 people were vaccinated, but there are still many without it. (Photo by Olivia Obineme, Sept. 22, 2009.)

More people were making the effort to immediately get their shots after confirmation Friday that 33 cases of the H1N1 virus and roughly 130 flu-like illnesses on campus.

“We put in an order for additional vaccines, and we were told initially that we would get it in time to split it between the two clinics for Tuesday and Wednesday,” director of health services Jane Halpern said.

“But for the new order, the distributors called us back and said that they couldn’t guarantee that they could get it to us or when they could get it to us.”

The usual order for the fall season is about 1,000 to 1,200 doses.

Nevertheless, as soon as the Center for Disease Control recommended that everyone receive a flu shot, Halpern said the University administration agreed to make it available to students for free, while faculty and staff would have to pay $10.

Halpern said a total of  1,600 doses were administered in seven and three-quarter hours and 1,200 of those shots were to students.

That number was three times more than they usually administered in the past.

The doses were on order for weeks, Halpern and Chief of Campus Police Bernie Gerst, the commanders of the Pandemic Flu Committee, said.

Halpern said she believed that a nationwide shortage of seasonal flu vaccines is the cause of the insufficient number of vaccines for the campus.

Big companies such as CVS, Target and Maximum Health make huge orders like 20,000 or 30,000 each year, Halpern said. There may not be enough vaccines being made by these manufacturers if they are making vaccines for the H1N1 virus as well. That takes priority, said Halpern.

Even so, many on campus who wanted to receive the shot are without their annual flu vaccinations.

“We had to tell folks that we had run out,” Gerst said. “But now the question everybody is asking is when are we going to do it again?”

Sophomore deaf studies major Philip Hayes said he wanted to get his flu shot for free and was upset that he could not receive his free vaccination.

“I had it all planned to go in the afternoon, but I can’t believe that they have ran out of vaccinations,” he said.

“I don’t know if I want to wait it out or just spend money to get it because now, having the flu shot is important.”

Both Gerst and Halpern said that a future date is uncertain. Neither of them knows if the rest of the doses will come in one large shipment or if it will come in a little at a time.

“Hopefully by sometime in October, but that’s all we know,” Halpern said. “We don’t know for sure if they have it or how soon they can get it to us.”

Check out my Towerlight version in Towson University’s newspaper The Towerlight.