Lecturer cancels class, cites H1N1 diagnosis in e-mail

 A part-time lecturer in the college of professional studies canceled today’s class after contracting H1N1, according to an e-mail sent to students in the class yesterday.
The one-line e-mail, sent at 4:40 p.m. from the lecturer's e-mail address, said today's class session was canceled because he had "been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus."
The lecturer did not respond to an e-mail from The News last night and The News could not reach him via telephone. Director of Public Relations Renata Nyul said she could not confirm the diagnosis last night.
The news of the cancellation came the day of the third annual Bouve Health Fair and Flu Clinic, where more than 1,000 students and faculty members received a free seasonal flu shot or nasal-spray vaccine. There were no vaccines available for the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu. However, there was a booth specifically dedicated to education about the H1N1 virus.
Ann Hill, a clinical instructor in the school of nursing, said Bouve hopes to aid the university when the swine flu vaccinations are available. However, because of the delays of vaccine and H1N1 vaccine, which are affecting the orders of the vaccine for Massachusetts, she said she was unsure when they'll be able to offer them to the students and faculty.
The seasonal flu shots and sprays were administered by a variety of university health officials, including students and faculty from the school of nursing and pharmacy.
“I'm very pleased with the way the student nurses worked," Hill said.
The health fair is a student-driven event, and the students responsible wanted it to be free for everyone, Hill said. She said she negotiated for 2,500 free vaccines from the Boston Medical Reserve Corps, as well as an unspecified budget from the university.
The nasal spray, also called a mist, was used more often than the shots, as the demand quickly depleted the stock of 150 shots before the morning  passed. The nasal-spray differs from the shot in that the spray contains a living sample of the virus, while a shot contains the dead virus. Some students said they were unaware they'd be getting the spray instead of a shot, yet few complained.
"This seems a little simpler,” said Jeff Sakowicz, a middler business major.
In addition to the flu clinic, event organizers held a blood drive, and outside the ballroom, tables were set up dealing with important health issues, including STDs, breast cancer, and traumatic brain injury. However, many students said they came for the flu clinic.
Sophomore chemistry major Max Mahoney, who received a flu vaccine, said he "didn't even know the fair was going on."
Hill said yesterday's event was the most populous of the three health fairs, though last year's distributed more shots because it offered several different vaccines for different ailments, like hepatitis.

- News staff Maggie Cassidy contributed to this report.

2 comments

Student

Fri Oct 30 2009 11:39

Correct tim. However, the nasal spray contains a "live" version of the virus (Can still infect weak immune systems), while the shot contains an inactive version.

Tim k

Thu Oct 29 2009 09:33

"The nasal-spray differs from the shot in that the spray contains a living sample of the virus, while a shot contains the dead virus."

There is no such thing as a living virus. A virus is not alive by any definition.

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