Since the H1N1 vaccine has become available, many concerns have surfaced about risks that may develop after receiving the vaccination. Despite extreme efforts to persuade people that the vaccine is safe, health officials, local and national, have fallen short as citizens still question the safety of the vaccine. Contrary to media coverage, officials assure citizens that the vaccination is as safe as any other.
“I myself took the first vaccination on campus to show that it is safe. However, the safety of the vaccination is in question because of myths and misconceptions or bad press,” said Shirley Wade, director/nurse practicioner of the Baranco Student Health Center. “Some people have seen the video of the young woman walking backwards after receiving a flu vaccination, but fail to research the entire story to see that this happened after receiving the seasonal flu vaccination and not the H1N1 vaccination.”
The woman Wade mentioned, 25-year-old Desiree Jennings, developed dystonia after receiving a seasonal flu shot. According to a FoxNews report, the former Washington Redskins cheerleader is suffering from the severe muscle disease that causes involuntary contractions and spasms. Jennings cannot walk or run forward without great difficulty as a result of the illness.
“Second, the young population has a sense of it’s not going to happen to me and until someone close to them has an untoward response, many will resolve to do nothing,” Wade said.
To reach more university students next semester, the health center will offer another campaign related to the vaccination. The underlying theme of this campaign will be “Its Not too Late to Vaccinate,” which will give students the opportunity to receive the vaccination in the Smith-Brown Memorial Union and dormitories.
“This (H1N1) is very different from seasonal influenza, where about 60 percent of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations and 90 percent of flu-related deaths occur in people 65 years and older,” Wade said. “The proportion of younger people being impacted by 2009 H1N1 is much greater than what occurs during seasonal flu and people 65 and older are much less affected by this virus than what routinely occurs with seasonal influenza.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site, 26 percent of persons hospitalized for H1N1 were between the ages of 5-18 between August and October while 24 percent were between the ages of 25-49 in that same time span.
“On Nov. 20, I was able to be involved in a White House conference call with representatives from the CDC, the secreatry of health and human services (Kathleen Sebellius) and Dr. Garth Graham ( of the Office of Minority Health) along with other HBCU representatives and the responses have been varied but for the most part turnout has been extremely low amongst college aged students,” Wade said.
“It appears that older individuals who are not in the priority group are the ones seeking this out and not the younger population.
This was across the board for most HBCUs. On the other hand, some have not received their vaccinations yet or in a very limited supply. It is vitally important that students receive the seasonal flu vaccination and the H1N1 vaccination.”
Estimating the number of swine flu (H1N1) related deaths in the United States has proven to be difficult, because many infected people do not seek medical attention and of those who do seek help, only a few are tested. However, CDC began reporting the number of laboratory-confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths associated with 2009 H1N1 flu in the United States. These initial case counts, and ongoing laboratory-confirmed reports of hospitalizations and deaths, represent an undercount of the actual number of 2009 H1N1 flu cases in the United States.
As far as maintaining statistical configurations for on-campus outbreaks, Wade said H1N1 is a pandemic and measures are no longer in place to confirm cases. Everyone with influenza=like illnesses are treated with the protocol for H1N1.
“The height of flu season will occur in January and many people are going to be very ill,” Wade said. “Vaccination continues to be the best form of prevention. This vaccination has proven to be safe and effective.
It was manufactured with the same precautions as any other ones and the reason why it was produced as fast is because the red tape was eliminated because of how rapidly and widespread the disease was. It is important that our student body get the vaccination since they live in close quarters and it is free of charge.”