The national flu shot crisis has prompted the Health Center to cancel its popular clinic set for Oct. 18. Last year, the Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice in San Mateo dispensed approximately 100 doses of the influenza vaccine, said Jan Gersonde, head nurse of the Health Center. The clinic was held two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.

“We have brochures on how to prevent the flu and what to do if you get the flu,” Gersonde said. “Other than that, there’s not much we [at the Health Center] can do about it.”

The Health Center is located on the second floor in Building 2 and is staffed by nurses and an administrative assistant. It provides first aid for injuries or accidents; evaluates and advises students regarding minor illnesses and makes referrals, if necessary, to local clinics or doctors.

“When people are sick, they need to stay home,” Gersonde said. “The flu is highly contagious. If they take care of themselves right away… drink lots of fluids, rest and stay home… they’ll get well faster.”

Gersonde said students should stay home for as long as they feel ill or experience symptoms such as high fever, body aches and muscle aches. Anti-viral drugs help at the onset of the flu, but students need a doctor’s prescription to buy them. The Health Center provides over the counter products only. They also provide pregnancy testing, tuberculosis testing, free and anonymous HIV testing and condoms.

Students can also obtain a health assessment, referrals, hearing screening, blood pressure check and information regarding nutrition, stress reduction, student health insurance, sexually transmitted diseases and crisis intervention.

“The best way to avoid getting the flu,” Gersonde said, “is to exercise, eat healthy, get enough sleep and wash hands frequently.”

The national shortage stems from a regulatory action in the United Kingdom where half of the United States’ supply of the flu shot is manufactured. The Chiron Corporation was ordered by health officials to suspend production in its Liverpool plant on Oct. 5. The three-month suspension, in effect, curtailed supplies to the United States for the 2004-2005 flu season.

The Bush administration is skeptical whether more vaccines can be obtained. Manufacturers are few, and there isn’t a surplus of the vaccine worldwide.

Of the nation’s remaining supply of 54 million doses manufactured by Aventis, Pasteur, Inc., in Pennsylvania, approximately 30 million had been dispensed by Oct 5. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, in collaboration with Aventis, announced a plan on Oct. 12 to identify and distribute some 22.4 million doses to areas of need throughout the nation that have not received their Chiron supplies.

The shortage has prompted Dr. Scott Morrow, the San Mateo County public health officer, to issue a directive to cease giving the influenza vaccine to anyone who is not in a high-risk category. Health care workers were also ordered to provide an inventory of supplies upon request, and to work with the county in redistributing the vaccine to those at highest risk. The directive will be in effect until further notice.

For information about the flu shot, call the county’s Flu Hotline at (650) 573-3927, or visit the Web site at http://www.smhealth.org/.