Today, Connecticut will unveil part of its plan to distribute the swine flu vaccine and it seems to be coming as the virus spreads rapidly. The number of cases at Yale University has nearly doubled.
Yale University has 55 cases of the H1N1 virus on campus, the Yale Daily News reports. University health officials say the rate at which students are reporting swine flu-like symptoms is increasing as well.
On Tuesday, health workers received reports of 20 new cases of probable swine flu.
“That’s a five fold increase in the reported cases per day that health services had been receiving prior to Labor Day”, Paul Genecin, director of Yale University Health Services, told the newspaper.
Students who call Yale University Health Services complaining of flu like symptoms are being told not to come into the nurses office. Instead, they are encouraged to quarantine themselves in their bedrooms.
As for the plan to hand out vaccines in Connecticut, priority groups will include pregnant women, young children, as well as healthcare and emergency workers.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has organized the summit at the Connecticut Convention center.
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"But let's get real. Whether it's H1N1 or the same old-fashioned seasonal flu, whoever gets it is going to feel pretty crummy. So we have to make sure we do everything now to get our message out. People, take care of yourself. Try to do your best to stay well. But in the interim, getting vaccinated is absolutely essential,” Rell said.
The federal government expects 45 million doses of the vaccine to be available in about a month. Connecticut anticipates an initial shipment of half a million doses. So far there have been almost 2,000 confirmed cases of swine flu in our state, and nine deaths.
Most of the cases have been in New Haven and Fairfield counties.
Dr. Matthew Cartter, the state's epidemiologist, expects those numbers will grow much higher in the coming weeks and months.
