Commonground
Senior Moderator
College says it?s prepared for swine flu
By SCOTT CONROE
Staff Reporter
The SUNY Cortland campus is ready for complications caused to its operations by H1N1 flu, the College Council heard Monday.
Gregory Sharer, the college?s vice president for student affairs, said his staff is building on preparations made several years ago as the college faced potential problems from avian flu and SARS.
The college?s health center had only two cases last week of flu-like symptoms and none this week, said SUNY Cortland spokesman Pete Koryzno.
-snip-
Sharer and college President Erik Bitterbaum said faculty have agreed to work with students when they miss class due to illness.
?We won?t shut down the campus unless the CDC or a state agency says we have to,? Sharer said, adding that most colleges are not thinking about large-scale interruptions in instruction.
Bitterbaum said that with the avian flu situation, faculty wanted proof from campus health services that students had serious illness, but that overwhelmed the health center?s staff.
?This time, we will use a trust system,? Bitterbaum said. ?It could be abused, of course, but that system is the way we?re going.?
Colleges and schools have been preparing for the H1N1 flu, after last spring?s swine flu pandemic. Administrators have tried to avoid panic while making students and staff aware that H1N1 flu is highly contagious and dangerous ? especially to people under 24 and people with certain medical conditions.
Sharer said the seasonal flu vaccine will be available to students later this week, and faculty and staff after that. It will cost $10 for students and $25 for faculty and staff.
The H1N1 flu vaccine will be available in October. Sharer said SUNY Cortland will decide how many vaccines to order, based on a survey of students.
The H1N1 vaccine will be free.
-snip-
http://www.cortlandstandard.net/index.html
By SCOTT CONROE
Staff Reporter
The SUNY Cortland campus is ready for complications caused to its operations by H1N1 flu, the College Council heard Monday.
Gregory Sharer, the college?s vice president for student affairs, said his staff is building on preparations made several years ago as the college faced potential problems from avian flu and SARS.
The college?s health center had only two cases last week of flu-like symptoms and none this week, said SUNY Cortland spokesman Pete Koryzno.
-snip-
Sharer and college President Erik Bitterbaum said faculty have agreed to work with students when they miss class due to illness.
?We won?t shut down the campus unless the CDC or a state agency says we have to,? Sharer said, adding that most colleges are not thinking about large-scale interruptions in instruction.
Bitterbaum said that with the avian flu situation, faculty wanted proof from campus health services that students had serious illness, but that overwhelmed the health center?s staff.
?This time, we will use a trust system,? Bitterbaum said. ?It could be abused, of course, but that system is the way we?re going.?
Colleges and schools have been preparing for the H1N1 flu, after last spring?s swine flu pandemic. Administrators have tried to avoid panic while making students and staff aware that H1N1 flu is highly contagious and dangerous ? especially to people under 24 and people with certain medical conditions.
Sharer said the seasonal flu vaccine will be available to students later this week, and faculty and staff after that. It will cost $10 for students and $25 for faculty and staff.
The H1N1 flu vaccine will be available in October. Sharer said SUNY Cortland will decide how many vaccines to order, based on a survey of students.
The H1N1 vaccine will be free.
-snip-
http://www.cortlandstandard.net/index.html