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By Dylan Riley
<small>Posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009, 2:22 am</small>
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<!-- No images were added to this post. --> <!-- No images were added to this post. --> </center> The University of Maine?s free swine flu vaccination clinics for students, planned for Nov. 9 and 10, have been moved to Nov. 5 and 6 because of a shortage of vaccine.
UMaine planned the clinics for Nov. 9 and 10 as a precaution, but because of new information from state health officials, the university has rescheduled to deliver the vaccine sooner. Students signed up for the clinics will have to reschedule online at umaine.edu/h1n1.
UMaine requested 6,000 doses and had expected to get them by Nov. 9, but the university administration learned Wednesday the campus will only receive 1,100 doses because of production and shipping issues. The university expects the vaccines to arrive in Bangor at Eastern Maine Medical Center before Nov. 5. The Nov. 16 and 17 clinics for university employees have also been rescheduled. University Relations Director Joe Carr said the employee clinics have not yet been given a new date.
?For now, the first priority is to deal with students,? Carr said. ?Nov. 9 was a safe date ? now we have more specific information about when they [vaccine doses] will be available.?
Carr said the 1,100 doses will be the first wave of the vaccine made available to UMaine. The university will receive more in the future, according to Carr.
UMaine will also host an open forum Tuesday, Nov. 3 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union to answer community questions about swine flu and the vaccine. Officials from Cutler, Student Affairs and the Health and Safety department will be on-hand to answer questions.
UMaine confirmed its first case of swine flu Friday, according to Carr.
The student lives on campus and is in self-isolation while being treated by health care professionals. University officials declined to release identifying factors about the student, including residence hall, gender and age. The student was tested at the Cutler Health Center.
?We do have a case confirmed on campus. A student was managing the illness and is in close contact with health care providers,? said Vice President of Student Affairs Robert Dana.
Carr said the student did not have a roommate and was having meals brought to him.
Carr said the university confirmed the case Friday around 6 p.m. The number of unconfirmed cases is at 27. Carr said the number has been rising by about two a week, but expects that number to increase.
?We want students to understand that this is something that is real. It can happen to them. Getting sick with this flu is very serious, and we want all students to take appropriate hygienic measures,? Dana said.
The vaccination clinics will be available to students in all age groups. Students must sign up online in advance at umaine.edu/h1n1 and are asked to set aside an hour for administering the vaccine when they sign up, but receiving it will take much less time, according to Richard Young, director of Cutler Health Center. Young said the sign-up program has limits set for each time frame according to the volume per vaccinator and that administering the vaccine will not actually take an hour.
<small>Posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009, 2:22 am</small>
<center>
<!-- No images were added to this post. --> <!-- No images were added to this post. --> </center> The University of Maine?s free swine flu vaccination clinics for students, planned for Nov. 9 and 10, have been moved to Nov. 5 and 6 because of a shortage of vaccine.
UMaine planned the clinics for Nov. 9 and 10 as a precaution, but because of new information from state health officials, the university has rescheduled to deliver the vaccine sooner. Students signed up for the clinics will have to reschedule online at umaine.edu/h1n1.
UMaine requested 6,000 doses and had expected to get them by Nov. 9, but the university administration learned Wednesday the campus will only receive 1,100 doses because of production and shipping issues. The university expects the vaccines to arrive in Bangor at Eastern Maine Medical Center before Nov. 5. The Nov. 16 and 17 clinics for university employees have also been rescheduled. University Relations Director Joe Carr said the employee clinics have not yet been given a new date.
?For now, the first priority is to deal with students,? Carr said. ?Nov. 9 was a safe date ? now we have more specific information about when they [vaccine doses] will be available.?
Carr said the 1,100 doses will be the first wave of the vaccine made available to UMaine. The university will receive more in the future, according to Carr.
UMaine will also host an open forum Tuesday, Nov. 3 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union to answer community questions about swine flu and the vaccine. Officials from Cutler, Student Affairs and the Health and Safety department will be on-hand to answer questions.
UMaine confirmed its first case of swine flu Friday, according to Carr.
The student lives on campus and is in self-isolation while being treated by health care professionals. University officials declined to release identifying factors about the student, including residence hall, gender and age. The student was tested at the Cutler Health Center.
?We do have a case confirmed on campus. A student was managing the illness and is in close contact with health care providers,? said Vice President of Student Affairs Robert Dana.
Carr said the student did not have a roommate and was having meals brought to him.
Carr said the university confirmed the case Friday around 6 p.m. The number of unconfirmed cases is at 27. Carr said the number has been rising by about two a week, but expects that number to increase.
?We want students to understand that this is something that is real. It can happen to them. Getting sick with this flu is very serious, and we want all students to take appropriate hygienic measures,? Dana said.
The vaccination clinics will be available to students in all age groups. Students must sign up online in advance at umaine.edu/h1n1 and are asked to set aside an hour for administering the vaccine when they sign up, but receiving it will take much less time, according to Richard Young, director of Cutler Health Center. Young said the sign-up program has limits set for each time frame according to the volume per vaccinator and that administering the vaccine will not actually take an hour.
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