Syracuse University Health Services provided flu shots to 212 students Monday, a record-high for the center and a substantial increase from the average of 20-30 a month.

The increase in the number of students getting flu shots is in line with national and state trends. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared the state to be in a public health emergency Saturday because of the current flu season. Flu cases have increased nationwide, said Kathy Van Vechten, a Health Services nurse practitioner.

“When I asked kids why they were here today for a flu shot, they said their parents told them to or that they heard about the increase in flu cases on the news,” she said.

The flu shot clinics opened in November and continued into December, Van Vetchen said. Health Services equipped themselves for the increase, she added, once the mayor of Boston declared the city to be in a state of emergency.

Cuomo’s executive order enables pharmacists to vaccinate patients between six months and 18 years of age. In addition, the order cancels the section of state education law that limits pharmacists’ power to “administer immunizing agents only to individuals 18 years of age or older”for the next month, according to a Jan. 12 press release from the Governor’s Press Office.

As of now, reported flu cases in New York this season have reached 19, 128 – far surpassing last year’s total of 4,404, according to the release. Two children in New York state and 18 children across the country have died of the flu so far this season, according to the release.

Like New York, 40 other states are also experiencing intense flu outbreaks five weeks earlier than usual, according to a Jan. 10 CBS News article.

The number of individuals visiting health care providers with flu-like symptoms increased from 2.8 percent to 5.6 percent in the past four weeks. During the 2011-12 flu season, the rate peaked at only 2.2 percent, according to a Jan. 9 article published by The Associated Press.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the rate of flu-related hospitalizations in the United States was 8.1 per 100,000 people, a high for this time of year, according to the AP article.

Van Vetchen said Health Services will continue to provide flu shot clinics for the SU community, as long as an interest remains. She urges students to frequently wash their hands and avoid sharing drinks and eating utensils.

Published on January 14, 2013 at 11:20 pm

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93