The H1N1 vaccine has come to Vanderbilt, but it’s not for students, yet.

Jerry Jones, assistant director and regional news director for the medical center’s Office of News and Public Affairs, wrote in an e-mail that Vanderbilt University Medical Center received approximately 1,000 doses of the FluMist earlier in the week. This form of the vaccine is the active nasal spray and can be delivered to people ages 2-49.

According to Jones, VUMC expects to receive the inactivated, injectable vaccine within the next two weeks, which will be only for those involved with VUMC.

It’s unclear when undergraduate students will have the chance to be vaccinated against H1N1.

Dr. Louise Hanson, the medical director of student health services, said the Student Health Center is unsure when the shipment of H1N1 vaccines will come in for students or how many vaccines Student Health will receive.

“The Tennessee Department of Health has indicated that most facilities will at least get their first shipment by mid-October through early November, so we expect to hear more details shortly,” Hanson wrote in an e-mail Thursday morning. “As soon as we know more regarding vaccine shipment dates and numbers, we’ll send a mass e-mail to all students.”

Hanson said similar to the first shipment of the seasonal influenza vaccine in September, the first students who will be targeted for vaccination will be “nursing and medical students who are actively involved in the care of H1N1 patients (such as those in the Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency Department), followed by any other students at VU who are at higher risk for influenza complications. This is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and includes those with chronic medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes, and also includes pregnant students or students with young infants at home,” Hanson wrote.

After those students have been vaccinated, Hanson said the H1N1 vaccine will be offered to the general student population.

H1N1, commonly referred to as swine flu, is a strain of influenza A that hit campus during the first month of school. Its symptoms and effects are clinically no different than that of seasonal influenza, Hanson said in an earlier interview. Students can go to the Student Health Center to receive a seasonal flu vaccination.

Hanson also wrote that although Student Health is not concerned about running out of seasonal flu vaccines, but she said since the same companies make both the H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines and are therefore under a dual demand right now, it has been harder to get the regular seasonal flu supply.

“We still have seasonal flu vaccine but not as much as we usually have this time of year,” Hanson wrote. “We have been reassured by the manufacturers that we will get the rest of our supply (we’re still waiting on another 3,100 doses that we’ve ordered), but it may not arrive until later this month or in early November. As a result, this may mean that during our fall vaccination program, many students may get both H1N1 and seasonal vaccines at the same visit.”

Student Health has given about 1,900 seasonal vaccines so far, she added. It saw record-high numbers of patients for the first couple weeks of the semester, with about 30 patients a day presenting with an influenza-like illness, but Hanson said now Student Health is “only seeing about 5-9 cases/day of flu. The other common illnesses like colds, strep, asthma, allergies, mono, stomach viruses and injuries are dominating more of our clinic visits right now.”

The H1N1 vaccine that the medical center received this week was manufactured by MedImmune in Gaithersburg, Md., and is processed under the same protocols as the seasonal flu vaccine, Jones wrote. The vaccine received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 15.

According to the CDC’s advisory committee on immunization practices, persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old will be among the first to be vaccinated. The initial wave of vaccines at the medical center will go to those workers who have direct contact with patients who could have influenza symptoms.

“(The H1N1 vaccine) currently is only being offered to faculty and staff in certain high risk areas such as the Emergency Department and the ICU’s,” Hanson wrote.
Jones said FluMist aims to be effective after the first spray.

“FluMist (LAIV) is different from the injectable influenza vaccine in that it contains live vaccine virus strains that are weakened so as not to cause the flu,” Jones wrote. “It is delivered into the nose, where the influenza virus usually enters the body, rather than by injection. LAIV prompts the body to begin mounting an immune response after the first dose.”

VUMC is among the first centers in Nashville to begin using the vaccine. The local health department will follow suit on Monday.

Kyle Blaine contributed to this report.