The University Health Center received its second 300-dose shipment of the H1N1 vaccine on Tuesday afternoon and immediately started giving it out.
The shipment consisted of 200 nasal spray vaccines and 100 injections.
Health center director Mike Eyster said the health center received the allotment from Lane County Public Health in the late afternoon, when supplies of the first shipment began to run low.
“We still have some of the first shipment here,” Eyster said. “But it was probably a low amount left.”
The first shipment of the H1N1 vaccine arrived last week in nasal spray form and was first administered to select groups in the community, but by Thursday it was available to the entire campus. Eyster said the shipment lasted at least a week, but he suspects that this second batch will be used much faster.
Eyster said the health center first targeted health care providers, housing staff and those who work in the Department of Public Safety, but has made the vaccine available to students.
“We are primarily administering the vaccine to students,” Eyster said. “It is not generally available to faculty and staff.”
Students who come in for a vaccination fill out a questionnaire to determine whether they are eligible to receive the vaccine, which is based on criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Eyster said.
“All students (who meet the medical criteria) are encouraged to come in at their earliest convenience to be vaccinated against H1N1,” Eyster said.
According to the CDC, the federal government has purchased 250 million doses of the vaccine for this flu season, and administration of the shot officially began Monday in clinics across the nation.
Eyster said the date of future shipments of the vaccine is still unknown, as is the future amount and method, but encouraged all students to come in if they feel sick.
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