The North Carolina Commission for Health Services released its share of flu vaccines to the general public Monday, following a nationwide restriction on access to the vaccines. The availability of the vaccine at Duke, however, will currently remain largely unaffected by this decision.
Jack Forehand, pharmacy supervisor at Duke University Medical Center, estimated that there are already more than 2,000 doses of the flu vaccine available to the Duke community. In addition, Durham County Health Director Brian Letourneau said the county recently sent 3,670 doses of the flu vaccine to Duke.
Student Health officials noted that the elimination of the restrictions—a move which stemmed from the state not wanting to waste its vaccine allocation—may create an increase in the demand for the vaccine, and Forehand said DUMC could not ensure that the vaccine would be available to those interested.
“It’s questionable how long our supply will last,” he said. “It’s very possible that we could use it all quickly.”
Although the flu season has been mild so far, the next three months are the peak of the flu season.
“We have the worst of it potentially ahead of us,” said Jean Hanson, assistant director for Student Health. “We will lift restrictions and provide [the vaccine] first-come, first-served.”
A few hundred Duke students have already received a flu vaccination this winter, but roughly 80 percent of these students fall into a “high-risk” category as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last October.
For individuals without access to the flu vaccine, Letourneau recommended other preventive guidelines such as washing hands, getting plenty of sleep and eating a healthy diet. Nevertheless, he emphasized the importance of a flu vaccination as the best method to preventing the flu.
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