Seasonal flu vaccine available at UHS

Taking early action to prepare for flu season, University Health Services (UHS) has begun administering the seasonal flu vaccine free of charge to Harvard students, faculty, and staff. UHS ordered 19,000 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine this year, up from the usual 12,000 doses.  Nearly 1,000 people have already been vaccinated.

Anyone with a Harvard ID or Harvard University Group Health Plan (HUGHP) card is eligible to receive the vaccine at UHS’s offices in the Holyoke Center or at its off-site flu clinics.

“The vaccine is a good idea for almost everybody,” said UHS Director David Rosenthal. “People with chronic medical conditions that put them at increased risk in the presence of flu are particularly encouraged to get vaccinated.”

Currently, the University is administering only the seasonal flu vaccine; public health officials expect that a limited number of H1N1 flu vaccines will be available in October.

For scheduling information, or for information about flu clinics that will be held at several sites around the Harvard campus in the coming weeks, visit the UHS site.