AU's Health Center has prepared for this year's flu season by ordering more flu shots than ever before, as the companies who make the vaccine plan to avoid last year's shortage, said Kathy Haldeman, director of the Wellness Center.
Last year, the Chiron Corporation, a British company, was expected to provide 50 million flu shots, about half the U.S. supply, according to The New York Times. British regulators shut down the factory due to sanitary problems and left the U.S. with a major shortage.
The Health Center received none of the flu vaccine serum last year, Haldeman said. The Times reported that about 80 million flu shots are given annually.
Any student, faculty or staff member who wants a flu shot should be able to receive one this year, according to Haldeman. The Health Center administration placed their order last summer for more flu shots than they have ever ordered or given out in the history of the center, she said.
This year, the Food and Drug Administration predicts that even without receiving the drug from Chiron, which spent millions of dollars to fix its factory, there will be more of the vaccine available, according to the Times. Three other companies who produce it are expected to deliver 71 million doses, up 10 million from last year.
How the vaccine is distributed to the campus community will be based on how many shots the Health Center has, Haldeman said. When there is a shortage they use guidelines posted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We really expect to have the full amount. Don't worry about distribution," Haldeman said. "They've made every effort to have enough available."
Several AU students said they were not even planning on getting a flu shot.
"If my immune system can handle it and there's a shortage, I don't need it," said Farzaneh Fouladi, a senior in School of Public Affairs. "I get the flu every year but I can live through being sick for a week."
Jessica Piquet, a freshman in the School of International Service, said she would prefer to not get a shot. "I don't really like needles," she said.
They will not know how much of the serum they will receive until it is delivered at the end of October.
Haldeman offered suggestions for protecting against the flu. "It's advised to washing your hands with soap and warm water for as long as it takes you to hum 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat,'" she said.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu season can start as early as October and run as late as May. Five to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year. October and November are the best months to receive inoculation, although people with a severe allergy to chicken eggs should not get a flu shot.
