H1N1 Vaccine Once Again Available from Student Health Services

The H1N1 Inactivated Influenza Vaccine is now available at all four Mason campuses, free of charge for all those with Mason IDs.

On the Fairfax campus, the vaccine is available on a first-come first-serve basis while the supplies last. It was administered to the Mason community on Monday and will also be available today, Wednesday Dec. 9, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Student Health Services in SUB I.

At the Arlington and Prince William Campuses, students and faculty can also get the vaccine, but they are strongly recommended to contact their respective campus clinics for specific times. The Arlington campus clinic is open until Dec. 10 and the Prince William campus clinic is open until Dec. 17.

As with the other flu vaccinations, those with severe egg allergies should not receive the vaccine.

The free vaccine clinic this week comes after three other free H1N1 clinics available to Mason faculty and students, as the Mason community has become adamant in arming themselves against the flu season.

Mason nursing students working in the INOVA hospitals are strongly urged to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. If they do not, they must wear masks around patients. However, in both cases they are still advised to get the H1N1 vaccine.                         

Senior nursing major Christin Zink works in local Fairfax hospitals, and encounters people who have doubts about why they should get the vaccine.

“Students should get the vaccine. No vaccine is a hundred percent safe, there will always be symptoms,” said Zink who received the inactive vaccine nasally. “A lot of people talk about how there’s a chance they could get a neurological disorder, but they need to realize that the chances of that happening is about one in a million, so in the long run it’s safer to get the vaccine than to get the Swine flu. And it’s not about protecting yourself, but about protecting the population as a whole.”

Seasonal flu shot clinics have been canceled due to the lack of the vaccine. Students and faculty can still receive the shot at several off campus pharmacy locations if need be.  

“Obviously H1N1 has been a problem, and since it does ‘target’ college students its good that they’re offering it for free on campus,” said junior health, fitness, and recreation resources major Kim Thoresen. “Because a lot of people have probably thought about getting one but either don’t know where to go to get one or don’t want pay to get it.”

Updated information on the next available H1N1 clinics, as well as a complete list of clinic dates, can be seen online at http://shs.gmu.edu.