Underestimates Cause Flu Shot Shortage

     Flu shots, normally free for students at the University of North Texas, have not been available since the first week of January, the height of flu season.

     Communication sophomore Tanner Flynn said her symptoms came abruptly leaving her bed ridden for four days.

     “I had been not sleeping a lot and that weakened my immune system,” Flynn said. “I was probably around someone who was sick, it could have been anyone.”

     Flynn said after her body took the time it needed to rest she finally recovered. Like many student, Flynn still finds it disappointing that the SHWC can’t provide students the medicine they need.

     “It’s concerning because most people get the flu and feel miserable, lousy and sick,” Voorhees said. “Besides knocking you out of work it can be serious.”

     Denton and Tarrant counties have recorded several deaths caused by the Flu. Herschel Voorhees, the Executive Director of the Wellness center, said that while there may have been several deaths recorded nearby, only the young and the old face the possibility of fatality.

     For from Jan 1st. through noon on Feb 12th, the wellness center tested 374 students, with 103 positives (79 positives for strain A, and 25 positives for strain B) for roughly a 27.5% positive rate. For comparison, during all last year’s flu season, the wellness center tested 337 students, with 119 positives (94 A and 25 B) for a 35% positive rate.

     “We recommend you cover your cough, wash your hands, don’t touch your eyes,” Voorhees said. “There was one day back in January we had 7 or 8 clinical staff out.”

     Voorhees said the shortage happened when SHWC underestimated how severe flu season would be. The SHWW orders flu shots a year in advance based off the number of flu kits in Mar. based off the amount of flu kits distributed in January of the same year.

      Forty-two flu kits were required in 2017 verses the 220 flu kits that been distributed this year.

     A flu kit is all of the necessary reagents and other materials to run 25 flu tests.  There are small glass tubes with powder that then has a liquid added to it. Patients will have a nasal swab collected, and that swab will sit in the liquid for a minute. After a minute, a pipette is used to collect a sample of the liquid that is placed in a cartridge which runs through the testing machine.  The machine will test for strain A and strain B at the same time. A quality control card is included in each kit to make sure the machine is running correctly and not providing inaccurate readings.

     Health Education and Outreach Coordinator Kerry Stanhope said the strain of H3N3 that is circulating mutates rapidly resulting in various flu shots to be ineffective.

     “The genetic structure is so mutable that is hard to get a vaccine for it because it changes during the process,” Stanhope said.

     Despite the hysteria, the Stanhope said that students should treat the symptoms they experience and get prescribed Tamiflu if they are diagnosed.

     In a twitter poll of 42 students, 48% said that they believed the lack of flu shots was unacceptable while 29% believed it was understandable.

     Students can check with many of the local pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens to get flu vaccinations. If they have insurance, a flu vaccination will often be covered with an office visit with a primary care provider or might have a co-pay at a pharmacy or other vaccination location.  For students without insurance, the Denton County Health Department offers vaccinations on a sliding scale based on certain qualifications.