The Almagest

Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Philip Sledge Coy Green, undergrad, community health receives a H1N1 vaccination in the U.C.

Media Credit: Philip Sledge Wendell Wycoff, undergrad, education, takes advantage of the free program.

In an effort to prevent an H1N1 outbreak, LSUS recently provided free, on-campus vaccinations to students and employees.

Two hundred ninety two students turned out to take advantage of the inoculation which was available March 1-3 in the University Center.

"The program was funded by a state grant which paid for the postage for letters sent to students' homes, the campus signs and the nurses who administered the vaccine," said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Gloria Raines, Ph.D. "The vaccine is free because it is provided by the federal government."

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), H1N1, declared by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic, is a relatively new disease that surfaced in mass quantity in 2009. The CDC reported that people have not built up an immunity to as of yet, and the virus was classified as a pandemic, not because of the severity of the virus, but because of the rapidness with which it spreads.

"The health authorities are trying to get as many people as possible vaccinated, and college students are in the high risk category," said Raines.

Symptoms of H1N1 swine flu are similar to those of regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Because of these similarities, it may be hard to determine if a person is infected with a seasonal flu or H1N1.

If you have not yet received a H1N1 flu vaccination, it is highly recommended by the CDC to help prevent another massive outbreak of the virus.

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