H1N1 nasal spray vaccines available for students

November 4, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Student Health Care Center expects to begin administering H1N1 vaccines to students on Wednesday, Nov. 4. At this time, there will be 800 vaccines available free of cost for healthy people under age 25.

These vaccines are in nasal mist form. Pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions should not receive the nasal spray vaccine. If you have received a nasal spray vaccine for seasonal flu, you should wait one month before getting a nasal spray vaccine for H1N1. Please see the list of medical conditions below for more details.

To receive a vaccine, students must register online at http://shcc.ufl.edu/h1n1/ and select a time slot to receive the vaccine. Fifty spots will be available for every half hour the clinic is open. The vaccines will be administered between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Student Health Care Center’s Infirmary building.

Registration requires a valid Gatorlink account. Students also must print and fill out a medical questionnaire and bring the form to the clinic. Students should also read the Vaccine Information Statement posted on the registration site. Only students who have registered in advance and who present their Gator1 cards at the clinic will be vaccinated.

The ultimate goal is to vaccinate all members of the UF community who wish to be vaccinated.

You should not receive a nasal spray vaccine if you meet any of these criteria:
• Pregnant
• 50 or older
• Have asthma, diabetes, muscle or nerve disorders, heart disease, lung disease, liver or kidney disease, anemia or other blood disorders
• Have contact with a person with a severely compromised immune system
• Use long-term aspirin therapy
• Have Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Have an allergy to eggs, gentamycin, gelatin or arginine or flu vaccine.

For more information contact Kat Lindsey at 352-392-1161, ext. 4300, or e-mail katlin@ufl.edu.