H1N1 vaccine available in Boone County, not MU

FluMist has been approved for healthy people ages 2 to 49.

By Victoria Guida

Published Oct. 16, 2009

The H1N1 vaccine reached Boone County on Tuesday, but the MU Student Health Center has not received it yet.

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services received 900 doses of the H1N1 vaccine known as FluMist, according to a news release. The vaccine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for healthy people ages 2 to 49, but certain groups will receive the vaccine before others. Priority groups include those ages 2 to 4 and ages 5 to 18 with chronic medical conditions.

Pregnant women are also listed as a priority group, but they are not approved to receive FluMist, and the vaccine is not yet available for them, said the department's spokeswoman Geni Alexander.

The approved vaccine FluMist is a nasal spray offered by MedImmune. MedImmune spokeswoman Karen Lancaster said a vaccine that can be injected exists for those who are not approved to use FluMist. This includes pregnant women, people with underlying health conditions and infants less than 2 years old. This version of the vaccine is not available in Boone County.

Alexander said many of the first vaccines have gone to health care workers, including family medical physicians and pediatricians because they are exposed to members of the public.

Pam Roe, Student Health Center senior information specialist, said the university does not have the vaccine yet, but it will be posted on MU's Web site as soon as it is available.

"The Student Health Center, just like everyone in the state, has put in a request for how many doses we think we're going to need, but that's how far it's gone, we haven't heard anything back from the department of health," Roe said. "We are one of their priorities, though, because of the age group that we serve."

Roe said the Student Health Center recommends people get their seasonal vaccine at the outreach flu clinics they offer. She also said as soon as the H1N1 vaccine arrives, it will be offered at those clinics. The seasonal vaccine costs $25 and the H1N1 vaccines will be free because the state is paying for them.

"If you're signed up for the seasonal vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine comes out the next day or something, we'll put you in the express lane for the H1N1," Roe said. "Then you can go ahead and get both. There's no reason why you can't have both at the same time."

Alexander said people should be patient when waiting for the priority groups to receive the first batches of the vaccine.

"Eventually there will be a vaccine for everyone that wants it,” she said. “It's just not all coming out right now.”

Students are encouraged to get the vaccine when it's available, Alexander said, but there is no way to be sure how prevalent H1N1 is since clinics stopped testing for it specifically once the virus was confirmed to be in the area.

"Anecdotally, we hear from physicians and other places that they are seeing a rise in the number of people presenting with influenza-like symptoms, but you know, it is this time of the year," Alexander said.