Barnard waits for flu shots

Barnard students looking for seasonal flu vaccines this late in the semester may be out of luck.

Due to a national shortage, Barnard students have found the shots few and far between. Barnard Health Services is currently out of the vaccine, though officials say more is on the way.
So far, Health Services has vaccinated 386 students, and “they’re actively seeking more vaccines,” Katie Palillo, BC ’10 and president of Barnard’s Student Government Association, said.
Student reaction was mixed, with many expressing relative apathy regarding the lack of vaccines.

“Well, last year I got one, and still got the flu,” Madeline Smith, BC ’12, said. “So I didn’t really pay attention as to whether or not they were offering them this year.”
“I actually haven’t had the vaccine,” Charlie Dinkin, BC ’12, said. “Now they’ve run out, I guess I just won’t.”

On the other side of Broadway, Columbia Health Services has enough flu vaccines left to hold heavily-attended “flu shot fairs,” where students, faculty, and administrators can receive free vaccines. Though the scarcity at Barnard and plenty at Columbia has some asking why the schools do not “share the wealth,” the two schools are independent when it comes to health care.

“Columbia Health Services and Barnard Health Services … are distinct and separate institutions,” Palillo said. “I don’t think it’s a matter of sharing—the system of allotting vaccines to our services is very specific and controlled.”

Also coming soon to a Health Services near you: the H1N1 vaccine. The New York Times reported on Nov. 5 that Columbia was one of the few major institutions citywide to receive batches of the new vaccine, but it is not yet available to students, even in Columbia Health Services.

“The H1N1 vaccine is currently on order from the New York City Department of Health and Mental [Hygiene] and will be made available to Barnard students as soon as the Primary Care Health Service receives its ordered shipment,” Palillo said.

According to Barnard Health Services, Barnard is on the distribution list, but the schedule of shipments has yet to be determined. When the school’s allocation arrives, Health Services plans to administer free vaccines to all interested.

In the meantime, Barnard is taking other initiatives to combat H1N1 and seasonal flu.

“SGA’s initiatives surrounding flu prevention have been concerned primarily with student support,” Palillo said. These efforts include a Community Flu Assistance Committee through which students lend support to their ill classmates. An e-mail the College Activities Office sent to Barnard students on Friday asked for “volunteer students to help deliver meals to Barnard students who have the flu.”

With vaccines a bit harder to come by at the moment, Health Services continues to recommend using hand sanitizer, refraining from contact with the sick, and frequent hand-washing to prevent the spread of illness.

“They’re basically telling you all the things you should be doing anyway,” Lesedi Mbatha, BC ’12, said. “Stay clear of sick people, wash your hands, use lots of Purell.”
And some students are skeptical of the flu vaccine as a means of preventing illness.

“I don’t necessarily think vaccinating for everything is the best thing,” Dinkin said. “Swine flu isn’t life-threatening if you’re pretty healthy—what’s the point of putting more stuff into your body, when your immune system could just fight it naturally?”