By
Anastasia Ching
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Only enough doses for students at high-risk for flu
Unless a student qualifes as "high-risk" according to the Center for Disease Control's criteria, don't expect to get a flu vaccination on campus until later this week.
"We only have a few doses left and those are for students who are at a high risk of getting the flu - students who the CDC defines as having asthma, diabetes, cancer or other diseases that weaken the immune system," said Jolie Schaeffler, an immunization nurse at Campus Health Service.
Campus Health is expecting a shipment of the vaccine later this week, but the exact date is not known, Schaeffler said.
"The drug company we get our vaccine from, Wyeth-Ayerst, never gives us an exact delivery date," Schaeffler said. "We're supposed to get a shipment every Monday, but that hasn't happened yet."
The flu vaccine shortage extends to the Tucson community, with thousands of people turned away at clinics and local grocery stores over the weekend.
Here on campus, students are baffled by the shortage.
"Students can get a morning after pill at Campus Health but we can't get a flu shot - that doesn't seem quite right," said Amy Armstrong, a pre-physiological sciences sophomore.
Until an shipment arrives, students will have to be patient, Schaeffler said.
"I will put an advertisement in the Wildcat when we get our next shipment because, hopefully, it should be enough to accommodate all students," Schaeffler said.
The vaccination will cost UA students $7. The cost is $5 for students covered by Campus Health's United Health Insurance.
