RI man dies of swine flu; college vaccinations to begin
3:29 PM Tue, Nov 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Colleges and universities in Rhode Island next week will begin vaccinating students through age 24 who live on campus, as the availability of vaccine improves. Additionally, school-based clinics will be held as scheduled next week and enough swine-flu vaccine for every child age 6 months through 5 years will arrive in pediatricians' offices by the end of next week, Health Director David R. Gifford said Tuesday. Gifford reported the state's eighth death from the H1N1 virus since Sept. 1. A man aged 50 to 60 from northern Rhode Island died of swine flu on Sunday. He had no underlying conditions, health officials said Tuesday afternoon. With enough vaccine available for children and pregnant women, the state is starting to plan for other high-priority groups -- the first being college students who live in close quarters on college campuses. The nine colleges and universities with residential students will work out their own arrangements with the Wellness Company, a mass vaccinator, to hold campus flu clinics between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18. Then, starting Dec. 14, schools serving commuter students will begin their flu clinics. For both groups, the majority of doses are in the form of nasal spray, a vaccine that contains a live virus and is not recommended for people with chronic illnesses. Approximately 65,000 people age 18 to 24 are enrolled in colleges and universities in Rhode Island, including people who are not residents of the state. They will all get the vaccine for free, paid for by federal taxpayers. People age 18 to 24 who do not attend college will have to wait till late December or January before they can get vaccinated, even if they have underlying conditions. The reason, Gifford said, is that diseases spread quickly among college students, putting them at higher risk than others. Also, the goal is vaccinate all college students before they leave for Christmas break, when they will be traveling around the country and at risk of transmitting or catching disease. The swine-flu epidemic in Rhode Island is starting to decline, but the state continues to see "historic levels of illness," Gifford said. About 9 percent of visits to physicians' offices are for flu-like illnesses; typically at this time of year it's less than 2 percent. Eight schools are experiencing double the normal level of absenteeism. 
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