20 vaccines are left for this season.

By Sarah Nelson

20 flu vaccines are still available for students in Health Services, with the office confirming there is an increase number of students diagnosed with the flu in the past two weeks.

The number of instances with the illness corresponds with trends seen in the rest of the country.

Liz Miller, Director of Health Services, said she thinks this may be because the vaccine was reported to only be 20-30 percent effective this year.

She said although there is a higher number of flu instances this year, the risk hasn’t risen to a level of a public health concern, giving an example of the H1N1 virus.

“We watch the greater community to see when there’s a risk of ‘do we have to make this a more intentional, public health thing,’” Miller said. “And for now, it still feels like yeah, it’s a higher flu season than most, but it hasn’t risen to the level of back in the day of swine flu.”

Health Services orders 500 vaccines each year, and reported to have used all of them last year.

Despite the low number, Miller said health officials are still strongly recommending students become vaccinated. She added the second most important protection for students is to cover their coughs and avoid coming to class if showing symptoms.