University Health Services (UHS) has received 4,000 additional doses of the injectable H1N1 vaccine, UHS Marketing Manager Beth Collitt said today.

The vaccine will be available to students on Dec. 3 and 4, Collitt said.

Dec. 3 will consist primarily of vaccine appointments with some walk-in times available, and Dec. 4 will likely be all walk-ins, Associate Director of UHS Doris Guanowsky said. The vaccine will be free to students, although organizers have not yet released where it will be distributed.

Director of University Health Services Margaret Spear said she is excited UHS has received more injectable doses but is concerned student interest in the vaccine has waned.

When information on the flu was first developing, many

more students expressed interest in or sought out the vaccine.

"It's kind of out of sight, out of mind," Spear said.

While vaccination clinics will not be held until after the Thanksgiving break, Spear said UHS will e-mail parents to alert them to the available vaccines. She hopes students' families will encourage them to receive the vaccine once they return to campus.

This shipment is only the second batch of injectable vaccines UHS has received from the government, Collitt said. The first shipment was distributed to students who were at a higher risk of catching the flu due to preexisting medical conditions.

Collitt said this shipment will probably not cover everyone who wants the vaccine, but UHS originally ordered about 30,000 doses of the injectable vaccine.

"We ordered enough so that every student who wanted it could get it," Collitt said. "The vaccine is taking longer to grow then expected."

UHS received the nasal spray of the H1N1 vaccine to help satisfy the demand for the vaccine on Oct. 27. However, students with chronic medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes are unable to receive the nasal spray version.

Guanowsky said UHS still has doses of the flu mist available to interested students who are cleared to receive it.

"Hopefully between the injectable vaccine and the leftover flu mist, we will be able to satisfy the demand," she said.

Shelley Haffner, an infectious disease nurse at UHS, recommends all students receive the vaccine for their own health and for the health of others. With the holidays coming up, most students' contact with people at high risk -- like the elderly and younger children -- will increase, she said.

"If they can get vaccinated, they can stop the spread of the disease to others," Haffner said.

And any student participating in the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Council Dance Marathon should receive the H1N1 vaccine in the upcoming weeks, Spear said. Many of the children who will interact with THON dancers and members will be particularly susceptible to the disease, she said.

"I think it is absolutely the responsible thing to do," Spear said. "Anyone who is going to be there needs to get one."