UI gets some H1N1 vaccine, but...
URBANA — H1N1 vaccine has arrived on the University of Illinois campus, but it came with two complications:
It’s the wrong kind for people who need it the most — those with chronic health conditions — and there’s not enough of it to hold a walk-in vaccination clinic.
Dr. Robert Palinkas, director of the UI McKinley Health Center, said several hundred doses of nasal vaccine have arrived unexpectedly, and they’re now being offered to students who book an appointment at the health center online.
Unfortunately, Palinkas said, the nasal vaccine — intended only for healthy people ages 2-49 — can’t be administered to pregnant students and those with asthma, diabetes and a variety of other conditions that leave people at risk for flu complications.
McKinley Health Center didn’t ask for the nasal vaccine, Palinkas said, but that’s what’s in the supply pipeline right now.
“We would prefer the injectable (vaccine) because we could have given it to those who needed it the most, but you get what you get,” he added.
On top of the H1N1 priority list for McKinley officials are about 1,000 to 2,000 students on the Urbana-Champaign campus with asthma, 400 to 500 students with diabetes and 1,000 or so more with some form of disability.
Because of the limited quantity McKinley has on hand, Palinkas said, the vaccine is only being offered to those who book appointments on the McKinley Web site. Students are booking appointments fast, and about a dozen were vaccinated within the first couple of hours today, he said.
Also on this date
- H1N1 vaccine plans change; T'boro vaccinations Thursday
- Flash flood watch issued for area
- Two charged in Rantoul drug case
- Man accused of swindling neighbor
- Man arraigned on home invasion charge
- Police investigating robberies in Champaign
- Road work will tie up Goodwin Avenue in Urbana
- Ex-UI chancellor now in running for NMSU presidency
- Suspect in baby's death pleads guilty to manslaughter
- Obituaries