H1N1 vaccine to be released next month

On Sept. 15, the Food and Drug Administration approved the new H1N1 flu vaccine, which is expected to become available within the next four weeks.

College students are among those considered the vaccine's "target population" for H1N1, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of  Health and Human Services  said Friday during a  conference call with college newspapers.

The H1N1 virus has the potential to mix with the seasonal flu strain and become more dangerous, Sebelius said.

Beth Bell from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a change in the virus would not necessarily null the new vaccine. 

"There's a spectrum of complete protection, partial protection or no protection against severe disease," Bell said. "There's many ways that the vaccine could still provide some benefit, and that's the sort of thing we can monitor."

Sebelius said the new vaccine is right on target to fight H1N1 because the virus has not changed since April. She said although the virus continues to present itself like the seasonal flu, it will continue to be watched carefully.

"So far it hasn't mutated or become more lethal, but we don't know that won't happen next month or next week," she said.

Sebelius said one dose of the seasonal flu vaccine is now considered sufficient for college students. 

"Now we have a shorter window of worry for college students about how long it would take before people can be vaccinated," she said.

Bell said similar to what happened in the spring, children and young adults are being hit the hardest.

The flu is in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the highest activity in the South East part of the United States.

"There are 21 states reporting widespread influenza activity at this time which is pretty much unprecedented," Bell said. "We're seeing that emergency rooms, office visits and student services visits are higher than was suspected at this time of year by a lot."

Bell said the conditions on college campuses, such as living together, may promote the transmission of the flu and other respiratory viruses. She said it is possible older people have some immunity that protects them from the H1N1 virus better than younger people.

Sebelius said colleges should consider some strategies for dealing with H1N1, including relocating either the healthy or sick roommate out of the joint living situation, and creating some sort of meal brigade to deliver meals to infected students so they don't have to go to the cafeteria.

Bell said there is no national guidelines for when colleges should close down, but that institutions should make a local decision based on their specific situation.

Jennifer S. Wooleyhand, spokesperson for the Delaware Division of Public Health, stated in an e-mail message that because the bulk of all flu cases are most likely H1N1, the very ill or hospitalized may be tested, but the majority of flu cases will not be.

Joseph Siebold, director of Student Health Services, said he is still waiting to hear from the state regarding the expected date of arrival for the H1N1 vaccine.

Wooleyhand said the state department is communicating with the Center for Disease Control on newer arrival dates for the H1N1 vaccine, but they are not yet confirmed. The regular seasonal flu vaccine is still expected to arrive by mid-October, she said.