Student Health officials have seen a 30 to 40 percent decrease in the number of H1N1 cases reported to the clinic each day since the virus' peak, Executive Director James Turner said.
This decline, which officials first noted last week, appears to be part of a national trend. The American College Health Association, which tracks the health data of 3 million students across the country, has seen a drop in cases of about 30 percent as well, said Turner, who also serves as ACHA president.
"We seem to be on the backside of the bell-shaped curve at the moment," he said.
Turner added that these declines, though, should not discourage students from attending the H1N1 vaccination clinic today, as Student Health is still receiving five to 10 reports of illness from students each day. The clinic will take place today at Alumni Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for students younger than 24 years old, and the vaccine will cost $19.96.
"There are about 3,800 doses," he said. "We'd love to give them all away."
As of yesterday afternoon, Student Health has seen 841 cases of flu-like illness this semster, Turner said. Student Health officials have managed 25 percent of these cases through phone calls and 68 percent in person. The emergency department has treated the remaining 7 percent of cases at the Health System. Students have recovered well from the disease, Turner said, and none have been hospitalized.
Nationwide, however, the ACHA has reported two deaths, 150 hospitalizations and 80,000 flu-like cases among the 3 million college students the organization tracks, Turner said.
"It continues to be a relatively mild disease, but the two deaths are a reminder of the rare and tragic consequences that can occur," he said.
H1N1 first infected students at the University this past spring and reemerged when students returned to Grounds in August. Although this second wave of cases appears to be fading, Turner warned that a third outbreak of cases could surface early next year.\n"Though the disease is going away right now, I do think it will come back in January," he said.
Because of the disease's mild symptoms and declining incident rate, some students said they will not attend today's vaccination clinic.
"I'm not too worried about [H1N1]," fourth-year College student Chad Voegele said, adding that he does not plan to receive a vaccination for the virus.
Fourth-year Engineering student Susann Babaei, however, indicated that though she is not particularly concerned about contracting H1N1, she will get the vaccination today.
"I'm planning on going [to the clinic]," she said. "I'm going home over Thanksgiving and Winter Break, and I don't want to spread [the disease] to my family."
Turner said Student Health officials have identified several dates in December for future vaccination clinics if the University receives additional doses and demand remains high. Clinics across the country are still facing shortages, however, so future dates will only be scheduled if University officials can secure more vaccinations for students, he said.
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