UHS to open final seasonal flu clinics

After a dwindling supply of vaccines forced the suspension of seasonal flu clinics, University Health Services (UHS) officials said today (Oct. 26) that it had acquired additional doses and would be able to reschedule several clinics.

UHS had anticipated a busy flu season and ordered about 19,000 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine this year, or approximately 50 percent more than it had the previous year. UHS staff administered more than 15,000 vaccinations to students, faculty, and staff in the past month and a half.

Last week, when a distributor could not guarantee delivery of about 1,600 doses that had not arrived on the appointed date, UHS calculated that it would soon run out of vaccine and called off a number of the final clinics on its schedule.

Subsequently, the doses in question were delivered. UHS now has slightly more than 2,000 vaccines left in stock.

“We are pleased to be able to organize one more round of seasonal flu vaccine clinics,’’ said UHS Director David Rosenthal. “When these clinics are finished, we will be preparing for the arrival of the H1N1 influenza vaccine.’’

A list of the last seasonal flu vaccine clinics of the year appears below.

UHS held seasonal flu clinics earlier than usual this year so that it could be ready to offer vaccinations against the novel strain of Influenza A, also known as “swine flu,” once public health officials make those doses available.

There will be a limited supply of H1N1 vaccines available, and UHS will follow guidelines established by the public health authorities to prioritize the distribution of the doses that it receives.

Locations, dates and times for the remaining flu clinics:

• Tuesday (Oct. 27): 9-11 a.m., Kresge Cafeteria and Harvard School of Public Health; 5-8 p.m. Mather Dining Hall (undergraduates only)
• Wednesday, (Oct. 28): noon-2 p.m., John Chipman Gray Room, Pound Hall, and Harvard Law School; 5 -8 p.m., Eliott Dining Hall (undergraduates only)
• Thursday, (Oct. 29): 10 a.m.-noon, Gutman Conference Center, Areas 1 and 2, Harvard Graduate School of Education