Health Center not to receive complete order of flu vaccines
Christopher Blake
Editor's note: This article was edited for accuracy on Sept. 16 at 1:45 p.m.
The Brown-Lupton Health Center will not receive its full order of seasonal flu vaccinations this fall, but it has ordered enough doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine for each person on campus, a university official said.
Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs, wrote Monday in a campuswide e-mail that people who are most at risk will be griven priority to receive the limited number of seasonal flu shots.
"Those that we know are most at-risk are already in the process of being notified," Mills said in a telephone interview. "For example, student nurses who need to have a flu shot before they're allowed to work in the hospitals; housekeepers who are dealing with bodily fluids when they go into the bathrooms to clean are considered high at risk. Students who have underlying chronic illnesses are high at risk."
Students who called the Health Center and said they had a chronic health issue would also be checked, Mill said.
As to the H1N1 flu shots, the university will communicate with students once it receives more information on the vaccine's release from the government, according to the e-mail.
Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN on Monday that the first doses of some of the H1N1 flu vaccine should be available in about three weeks.
According to the e-mail, free flu vaccines will not be administered at the Health Fair on Oct. 5.
Mills said the university ordered 2,700 doses of the flu vaccine but would receive only about 1,650. Last year, 2,000 doses were ordered.
The shortage is because of a manufacturer's logistic issue, according to the e-mail.
Mills said he did not know the name of the manufacturer the university uses.
The e-mail listed four local pharmacies that students can visit to get vaccinated, but students would have to pay a minimum of $24.99 for a seasonal flu shot. The pharmacies are CVS, Tom Thumb and two different Walgreens locations.
Mills said students who cannot afford a vaccine should go through the Tarrant County Health Department.
Vanassa Joseph, public information officer for Tarrant County Public Health (TCPH), said flu shots at TCPH clinics cost $20. She said there are a number of organizations that would help people who cannot afford a flu shot, including United Way.
TCPH has plans to administer flu shots at locations around the county, Joseph said. For more information on the locations go to www.tarrantcounty.com/eHealth.
The Brown-Lupton Health Center referred questions to Lisa Albert, associate director of communications. Albert could not be reached for comment.
Locations
CVS
All locations (beginning Oct. 6)
$30
Tom Thumb
3000 S. Hulen St.
$28
Walgreens
3100 McCart St. (at Berry Street intersection)
$24.99
Walgreens
4350 Oak Park Lane (at Hulen Street intersection)
$24.99
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