Dr. William Schaffner, Professor and Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University, talks to the Hustler about the H1N1 virus and vaccine.

I understand that the age group from 6 months to 24 years is especially susceptible to the flu.  What are the reasons for this "special demographic?"
The H1N1 virus is new to most of the population.  Children and young adults are that part of the population that is completely susceptible to this new strain of influenza, so the virus has had the greatest impact on them.  Older persons, especially those over 60 years of age, likely were infected years ago with a virus that was similar to the current H1N1.   As a consequence, older persons appear to have persistent immunity, which gives them partial to complete protection against the virus.

What are the side effects of the vaccine? 
The H1N1 vaccine is being subjected to the same rigorous testing that is given to the annual influenza vaccine.  That means it should be extremely safe.  We give about 80-100 million doses of the regular influenza vaccine each year in the United States very safely.  The vaccine, in the form of a shot, can be associated with slight soreness and swelling at the injection site. After I get the annual vaccine my upper arm is a bit tender for a couple of hours.  Less than 2% of recipients have a degree of fever for a day after influenza vaccine.  The nasal spray vaccine can be associated with a slight sore throat and nasal discharge for a day or two.

Where is the vaccine being developed? 
Under contracts from the US Government, the vaccine manufacturers that regularly supply US influenza vaccine are providing H1N1 vaccine.  The manufacturing facilities are located in the US and Europe.

What do you hope can be learned from the vaccine testing? 
The vaccine testing currently underway is to assure the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine as well as the amount of vaccine that needs to be in each inoculation or nasal spray.

Will students have access to the vaccine? 
Students definitely will have access to the H1N1 vaccine – they are part of the population most affected.

When will the vaccines be available?
Recent reports confirm that the first shipments of H1N1 vaccine will arrive about mid-October with more coming in each week.

Are either Vanderbilt students or Nashville residents a priority for the vaccinations? 
Stay tuned to learn when and where the H1N1 vaccine will be available to Vanderbilt students.  In the meantime, it would be smart to get the regular, seasonal vaccine as soon as it is available.  Seasonal vaccine will not protect against H1N1 infection and the H1N1 vaccine will not protect against seasonal influenza.  Get protected against both!

What can you tell me about how Vanderbilt has been aiding in the efforts against the H1N1 virus? 
Under the leadership of Dr. Kathryn Edwards, Vanderbilt is one of the sites in the US that is performing the clinical testing of the vaccine.  Vanderbilt has a long history of basic science in vaccine development and in clinical testing of many vaccines for both the pediatric and adult populations.