The man, who was between the ages of 18 to 24, had an underlying medical condition that contributed to his death, according to John Martins, director of Employee and Public Communications at the Maine CDC.

The man was not attending any colleges or universities at the time of his death. His death marks the second swine flu death in Maine. The Maine CDC is not releasing his name and date of death. An autopsy confirmed the man’s death was the result of swine flu.

A 50-year-old York County man who died in August was the first Mainer to die of swine flu. In June, the World Health Organization declared swine flu a worldwide pandemic.

The University of Maine has seen no deaths related to swine flu. It vaccinated approximately 350 students Thursday and Richard Young, director of the Cutler Health Center, said UMaine was well on its way to duplicating that number by Friday’s end.

“We’re on target to do the same today,” said Wayne Maines, director of Safety and Environmental Management.

Thirteen childcare workers at the six children centers on campus were the first to be vaccinated on Thursday. Children under the age of six months, such as the ones at the Children’s Center at the University Park, cannot be given the vaccine, and so the people who care for them were vaccinated to protect them.

Students getting the vaccine expect for it to take about 35 minutes, including wait time.

Young said university health officials will meet next week to schedule further student clinics.

Currently the university is administering the vaccine to students in high-risk groups, such as 18- to 24-year-olds with underlying medical conditions such as asthma. The university had originally planned to hold clinics Nov. 9 and 10, but after being told by the Maine CDC the university would only receive 1,000 doses — not the 6,000 it requested — UMaine rescheduled.

“I think initially there was a lot of concern,” said UMaine Student Government President Owen McCarthy. “But now, after seven or eight weeks with no imminent danger, I think people might be disregarding it.”

University officials have adapted their plans because of student apathy.

“We have some efforts just now getting underway, [which] communicate with the community the importance of getting a vaccine,” said Joe Carr, director of university relations. “We’ll also be using e-mail and new posters you’ll see on campus.”

Carr stressed the negative impact a case of H1N1 can have on a student’s life.

“A case of H1N1 can cause a serious disruption in a student’s life, and the vaccine can really go a long way toward preventing that. Students will be able to continue their lives on schedule without disruption,” Carr said.

Richard Young, director of Cutler Health Center, emphasized the importance the vaccine plays in the community.

“The data suggests that if one chooses not to be vaccinated, they have an increased potential to propagate the virus throughout the community. The history of pandemic influenza illustrates that vaccination is an effective approach to minimizing the spreading of the virus through a community and or population,” Young said. “Vaccinations diminish the transmission of the influenza virus and improve the health and safety of our entire local and regional community.”

McCarthy said he signed up to receive the vaccination at the free Nov. 9-10 clinics. Those dates have since been changed to Nov. 5 and 6.

“I’ve definitely been washing my hands and using Purell from time to time. I’m just kind of sitting back at this point and living my life as usual. I’m not super concerned,” he said. “I don’t think people should live in fear because of H1N1.”

Currently, university officials are preparing for all situations.

“The university is communicating closely with the Maine Center for Disease Control on the status of vaccine for the state and university. With initiates of this magnitude involving the coordination of many organizations, there is always a chance for challenges and vaccine delivery delays,” Young said. “If the situation presents a vaccine distribution delay, the Emergency Operations Committee will implement one of the alternative plans. The trigger for these alternative plans are based on the date and volume of vaccine available at any given time.”

“It is pointless to make plans now,” Carr said of the necessary change should the vaccine shortage delay the November clinic. “It would be useless.”

Despite the general apathy of students and vaccine concerns, McCarthy remains hopeful.

“We get debriefed about it every week,” McCarthy said. “Usually it’s just, ‘This week was good,’ since so far we haven’t seen anything big. We’re doing alright.”