November 2, 2009 Dear PLNU Students and Parents, The university has ordered an ample supply of H1N1 vaccine to administer to our undergraduate students who wish to participate in receiving this inoculation. We initially hoped to receive the supply during the first week of November, however, the delivery schedule is unclear at this time. When the vaccine becomes available, the Center for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended delivering the vaccine to the following 5 target groups (approximately 159 million persons nationally): - Pregnant women
- Household and caregiver contacts of children younger than 6 months of age (e.g. parents, siblings, and daycare providers)
- Health care and emergency medical services personnel
- Persons from 6 months through 24 years of age
- Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have medical conditions associated with a higher risk of influenza complications (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/clinicians_qa.htm <http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/clinicians_qa.htm> )
Clearly, our students fall within one of the high risk target groups. If PLNU receives a limited supply of vaccine, first priority will be given to students with certain medical conditions , then the supply will be available to our general student population. The Wellness Center in collaboration with the School of Nursing has developed a plan to staff and facilitate a campus vaccine clinic. Please continue to monitor your email and the PLNU website for future developments. Be assured that we continue to monitor the situation closely and will be updating our Web site as new information becomes available. We are in direct contact with local health department officials. We also receive frequent notification of current influenza status from the Emergency Medical Alert Network (EMAN) of San Diego County and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding local impact and community response. Please direct questions regarding the vaccine or other matters related to H1N1 to Jim Coil, Wellness Center Director.
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