With two confirmed cases of H1N1 in a sorority this month and more than 2,000 students with symptoms of the virus at Washington State University (WSU), the UW is preparing for an outbreak of the virus on campus this fall.

The University is working to put hand sanitizer dispensers in buildings on campus, and Environmental Health and Safety plans to distribute quart-size pocket flu kits. They will include Tylenol, four disposable thermometers, throat lozenges, hand sanitizer and instructions on self-care.

Director of Campus Health Services Dr. Jean Haulman said they have enough funding from the university to put together 10,000 kits, which will be distributed to students in the residence halls and the Greek community first.

Considering the UW is the last university nationwide to start classes, the UW administration has an idea of what to expect, and what to prepare for.

“Everyone realizes from what’s happening on other college campuses that we are going to get it,” said Dr. Jean Haulman, the director of Campus Health Services.

The swine flu vaccine won’t be available for a few more weeks. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in mid-September, the vaccine for swine flu will be provided at the UW early this fall as part of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) national distribution of the drug.

“In mid to late October, the new vaccine will become available for the “swine flu,” Haulman said. “There will be vaccination stations throughout campus, and the vaccine will be free.”

While Campus Health Services placed an order for enough of the drug to inoculate all 40,000 members of the university, there’s no estimate on how many doses will arrive in mid-October with the high demand for the vaccine throughout the country.

“The vaccine will come in waves,” said Haulman. “We definitely will not be able to immunize all 40,000 people in the first day.”

Like the distribution of the care kits, vaccinations will start in the dorms and Greek housing due to the dense student population in both environments.

“When you start looking at the dorms and the close proximity of students, it’s definitely a concern for us,” said Bryan Heartsfield, the preparedness health and medical operations manager of Public Health for Seattle and King County.

Additionally, state law prevents pregnant women and children under the age of three — both high-risk groups for H1N1 — from receiving shots with preservatives, Haulman said.

While doses of the H1N1 vaccine without preservatives will be provided, they are not expected to arrive with the initial doses of the drug.

Students in the School of Nursing will be certified by Public Health King County to give the vaccinations, and an advisory committee on communicable diseases is meeting on a weekly basis to prepare for the mass inoculation process and the management of the disease on campus.

“It’s going to be a very quick process,” Haulman said. “The minute the vaccine comes, we will be giving it.”

With the rush to provide the vaccine to the public, the drug was not put through the years of testing that some are before being distributed. However, the same is true for most influenza vaccines.

“This vaccine, for all practical purposes, is going to be as safe as the seasonal vaccine, because it is made in the same way,” Haulman said.

Until the vaccine is available, the university is encouraging students to take basic precautions to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition to frequent hand washing, students are advised to leave the dorms and stay home from school and work if they become sick until they have not had a fever or taken ibuprofen or Tylenol for 24 hours. Aspirin is highly discouraged, as it can cause serious complications when combined with the virus.

Professors have access to an online Academic Continuity Toolkit (ACT) to facilitate classes online and allow students to study from home while sick to prevent the spread of the disease.

“There’s a campus-wide message for professors to accommodate students who can’t come to school because of illness,” Haulman said.

Additionally, housing and food services (HFS) is creating a meal delivery plan for students who wish to isolate themselves in their dorm rooms while sick.

“I think it’s going to be a university-wide campaign with support at all levels,” Haulman said.

Reach reporter Lexie Krell at

news@dailyuw.com.