RPI’s traditional campaign to deliver free flu shots to students has come to a grinding halt this year as the manufacturer for its vaccine, Chiron Corporation, based out of the United Kingdom, had its manufacturing license suspended by the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. This suspension will prevent Chiron Corporation from distributing its flu vaccine for this season. In the United States, this means that the flu vaccine supply has been reduced in half.
Katrin Wesner, the administrative manager for the Student Health Center, said that RPI, which ordered 2,500 flu vaccines this year, has received none. In addition, Rensselaer County and New York State, which both ordered from the same manufacturer, have none of the vaccine to distribute.
Since it is unable to deliver flu shots to students, the Student Health Center is requesting that people in a “high-risk” category attempt to obtain a flu vaccine from their family physician. High-risk persons are those with chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, asthma, or other pulmonary diseases), adults 65 and over, infants, and all women that will be pregnant during the flu season. The Centers for Disease Control urge those not at high risk to refrain from getting a flu shot this year to aid in providing the vaccine to those at highest risk.
Common symptoms of the flu include a headache, a high fever of 101-degree Fahrenheit or higher, severe muscle aches and pains, extreme fatigue, and a sore throat. All of these symptoms typically occur within a short time of each other and are more severe than symptoms of the common cold. If caught within the first 48 hours, medications can be prescribed that can greatly reduce the length of symptoms. If you exhibit symptoms of the flu, check in with the Health Center as soon as possible to reduce the length and possibility of spreading the infection. Dr. Leslie Lawrence of the Student Health center recommends that students with the flu refrain from going to public places and cover their face with their elbow (and not their hands) while sneezing or coughing.
Dr. Lawrence further recommends common health practices to help prevent contracting the flu. “Wash your hands before meals, after using the restroom, when you sneeze or cough; drink fluids; and get a full night’s sleep” are the best ways to prevent getting the flu, said Dr. Lawrence. Every dining hall and many areas around campus have waterless foam hand sanitizers for students to use.
Another infection which has found its way onto campus this year is Pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough. Pertussis is commonly an infection which can be lethal to infants and they are immunized against it. Immunizations against Pertussis don’t continue into adulthood, however, and the effects of the immunization wear off over time. Pertussis is not lethal in adults, but can cause coughing fits which last several minutes leaving the afflicted person gasping for air (which is where whooping cough gets its common name.)
Left untreated, the infection can last for several months. With antibiotics, however, the infection can dissipate and symptoms can disappear in 7-10 days. Dr. Lawrence stated that Pertussis has been making a comeback lately: “There have been more cases [of Pertussis recently] than in the past 40 years.” In the case of contact with a person with whooping cough, a series of preventative antibiotics can be given to prevent its onset.
The Student Health Center as well as the Centers for Disease Control will provide more information on the status of flu vaccines on campus as it becomes available on their websites: http://studenthealth.rpi.edu and http://www.cdc.gov.
