Swine flu doses arrive; still no clinic
Despite receiving 200 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, Student Health Services (SHS) will not hold a clinic yet to distribute the vaccine.
SHS originally requested 2,500 doses of the swine flu vaccine but only received 200, said Medical Director of SHS Dr. Egilda Terenzi on Monday. SHS also requested 500 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine.
“There are less doses than expected because the swine flu and season vaccines are both being produced in the same laboratories,” she said. “Only so many doses can be made at one time.”
SHS will give priority to high-risk students, such as pregnant women and health care workers, while it waits for more doses, Terenzi said.
“We have been and will keep putting in orders for more,” she said. “We will continue to follow CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines while we try to get as much of the vaccine as possible.”
Terenzi said SHS expects to receive more of the vaccine, but can’t predict when and how many doses it will receive.
Part of the reason SHS received such a small amount is because Hillsborough County’s highest priority is young children, Terenzi said. Schools across the nation are having the same problems acquiring doses, she said.
Terenzi said H1N1 vaccine cultures, which are grown in hen eggs, are not producing as well as expected, contributing to the shortage of doses.
A health clinic, where students would be able to receive free shots for the seasonal flu, was originally scheduled for Oct. 23. It has been postponed, however. SHS still hopes to hold it in the future, Terenzi said.
More Stories
USF won’t install more physical protections following recent on-campus suicide
USF will not be implementing additional physical safety measures over a month after a student leapt from an upper floor inside the Interdisciplinary Sciences building, USF spokeswoman Althea Johnson said. The incident marked the third on-campus suicide since fall 2022. A week after a student fell from an upper floor of Beard Garage in 2022, […]
USF student body president and vice president-elect sworn in
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Related: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony […]
Photos: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Related: USF student body president and vice president-elect sworn in :Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Gabrielle […]
President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights
Gearing up for the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden made a stop in Tampa to talk about reproductive freedom in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. The speech comes just two weeks before the state’s six-week abortion ban comes into effect on May 1. Biden called on Floridians to vote for an amendment deciding abortion access […]
‘Genocide Joe has got to go’: Pro-Palestine protestors gather during Biden’s visit to Tampa
While President Joe Biden took 15 minutes to talk on the protection of reproductive rights in Tampa on Tuesday, pro-Palestine protests chanted against the United States handling “on-going genocide” in Gaza, and its alliance to Israel in the conflict. Related: President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights “The lack of coverage in the media […]
USF students can ‘Swap Shop’ their way into free items this week
USF’s Swap Shop is just around the corner. Literally. Bulls can stop by the Swap Shop, located in Holly J, to pick up some free items – from furniture to clothing. Students, staff and faculty had the opportunity to donate items for the Swap Shop earlier this week on Monday and Tuesday. But ‘shopping’ won’t […]