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Op-Ed: The motivation for vaccination

Posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009, 2:04 am

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I woke up Monday morning, checked my FirstClass inbox and saw Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Robert Dana’s e-mail about H1N1. I hesitantly read it, thinking I would delete it halfway through. I was wrong.

In the e-mail addressed to the University of Maine student body, Dana announced that the school would offer free H1N1 vaccinations for all students 24 years old and younger. I would normally disregard this offer but as I read on, I reconsidered.

I consider myself to be a reasonably healthy person. I’ve never had a seasonal flu shot, and I’ve never regretted it. I’m aware of the risks of H1N1, and I know that I fit in the 18- to 24-year-old range the virus hits hardest. I’ve heard of the large-scale outbreaks at Bates and Bowdoin colleges. I even considered — but ultimately decided against — trying to get H1N1 just so I could have a good story to tell to my grandkids.

The last thing on my mind was actually getting the vaccination. Then I read these words in Dana’s e-mail: “If you develop a more serious case, the consequences could be much worse and might even make it impossible for you to complete the semester’s work on schedule.”

It hit me: I’m graduating in the spring. I’ve worked hard to make sure I do it on time, and if H1N1 gets in my way, I’m going to be one very upset returning senior in the fall of 2010.

Dana had my attention now, and I actually read the rest of the e-mail. I even made it to the end, where his words scared me again: “It would be unwise to ignore this opportunity.”

After giving the issue more thought, I realized there were other perks besides graduating on time. Part of my resistance to getting the vaccine was that I worried it would be a hassle. I figured I’d have to wait in line for hours in some pharmacy with a plethora of people my grandmother’s age. I’m busy enough. I don’t need to track down an immunization I might not even need. Not only that, but I’m a college student and college students are poor. If my insurance didn’t cover it, I probably wouldn’t get it.

Dana had a solution for all these things. The immunization clinic will be on campus in the Field House — a convenient location. Appointments will last an hour or less — so it’s quick. The vaccination is also free.

A convenient, quick, free way to improve my odds of not getting sick? I made an appointment to get vaccinated. Good work, Dana. My public relations professor would give you an A for your strategy.

Students are encouraged to pre-register online, but walk-ins are accepted as long as there are extra immunizations available. The school has requested 6,000 doses of the vaccine but only expects to receive 1,100 doses.

The vaccines couldn’t have been offered at a better time, either. Although UMaine has managed to avoid a massive outbreak of the virus, our first confirmed case of H1N1 has been reported on campus. It’s getting a little too close to home now.

Others in the area seem to agree. The Bangor Daily News reported Tuesday that a free clinic would be held in Bangor for pre-kindergarten to high-school-aged students in the area as well. They even get excused absences to attend.

These free clinics are important for our communities. H1N1 is affecting a population that is usually more resilient to viruses, and our school systems are doing a good job to protect us. To get us to participate, they just had to scare us a little bit, but they’ve done their work.

Rhiannon Sawtelle is features editor for The Maine Campus.