Stony Brook University Students Still Swineless So Far
Stony Brook University Students Still Swine Less So Far
Hector Fonseca, a junior and Chemical Engineering major at Stony Brook University, isn’t worried about the Swine Flu.
When he walks into his West Apartment residence he sees signs that show how to properly wash his hands and he purposely keeps hand-sanitizers in his living area.
Derek Brumleve, a senior at the university, isn’t worried about contracting H1N1 either. "My mom has been bugging me to get it for about two weeks," says Derek while standing on line to receive the free vaccine available to Stony Brook students ages 18-24. He claimed his reason for getting vaccinated was to ease his mother’s worries. Derek who is also asthmatic feels the University is doing all it can.
Living on campus under close living conditions, he claims he does not think he will contract the highly contagious illness. "I believe more people are becoming more sanitary are being able to sanitize their hands better," says the senior. People sneezing into their elbows and disinfecting their hands before they eat are a couple of examples that lead Derek to believe people are taking more conscious precautions.
Influenza-like illnesses on college campuses, believed to be pandemic H1N1 influenza, increased 34% in the week ending October 23rd, the largest jump if the academic year, according to the American College Health Association. The 279 colleges and universities that provide data to the association reported a total of 8,861 new cases and 20 hospitalizations.
Although Stony Brook University is an active participant in this ACHA Pandemic Influenza Surveillance Study, still no one on Stony Brook stomping grounds has yet to contract the infamous illness, which President Obama recently declared a national threat to the nation.
With approximately more than 9,000 students living on Stony Brook campus and an approximate overall population of 24,000,the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently predicted that as much as 12 to 24% of the population would contract the new influenza virus this winter. That would give unvaccinated American citizens an odds spread of as little as a 1 in 10 or as much as a 1 in 4 chance of getting the H1N1 virus.
The University has taken several steps towards prevention including an H1N1 planning committee made up of doctors, experts and members of administration, who meet weekly in efforts to keep Stony Brook student’s swine free.
Lawremce Zacarese, the Director of Emergency Management and Chief of Police in the university oversaw the point of distribution for the H1N1 vaccine, conducted on campus.
Since Stony Brook received its first batch of vaccines over 3,000 students to date have gotten vaccinated from points of distribution sites on campus.
Zacarese, who is also the co-chair for the H1N1 planning committee, along with Gary Kaczmarczyk, Director of Environmental safety boasts of the university being one of the first universities to receive H1N1 vaccines on Long Island. The H1N1 planning committee, previously known as the Pandemic Flu Committee, were well aware that taking an active approach before the actual flu season started, could help in preventing the spread of the virus across campus. “We knew early on, we took the planning very serious our ability to plan ahead certainly gave us a distinct advantage,” said Zacarese.
Another prevention committee, which consists of Stony Brook students volunteering their time towards learning about H1N1 through training courses on how to educate other students on stopping the spread of the flu, is known as the Ili Student Information Task Force.
Ili, which stands for Influenza like illnesses, headed by Kathleen Valerio, gets students to actively engage in increasing awareness. She believes the campus is well ahead compared to many other campuses she’s observed. “I don’t see an epidemic of flu on this campus,” says Valerio who is also the Health Educator for the Center for Prevention and Outreach. “They’re learning that the flu that is being transmitted is a live virus, that it is transmitted from person to person through that beautiful display of droplets that you see when somebody coughs or sneezes. Stopping that and stopping the spread of those droplets is what is going to effectively stop the flu,” explained the health educator.
Some students beg to differ. While standing on the line for free vaccines Michael Yagudayve, a junior and on campus resident, doesn’t see the major prevention methods that health administrators claim are taking place on campus. On a scale of 1 to 10 he gives Stony Brook a six or seven. “In general I don’t feel the campus community has been doing too much,” says Yagudayve, who disclosed that he wasn’t too worried about catching the flu but also admitted that he wouldn’t know what to do if a roommate contracted flu symptoms. “If somebody has the Swine Flu, they advise them to stay home but I don’t think anyone is taking extreme measures to make sure people are quarantined or stay in their rooms or at home,” explained the Stony Brook resident.
As for residential procedures in handling swine flu, the campus website states quaranting sick individuals is not a recommended response taken by the university and self-isolation is the best tactic if feeling ill.
With all the prevention and planning that the university has undergone since September, so far Stony Brook University has no reported cases of H1N1.
As for Hector, even though he may not be worried about getting sick and he believes the efforts he and his roommates are taking to keep clean will keep the germs away, he still insisted on getting the vaccine. “I don’t mind doing it because I want to feel safe, and it is also free,” says Fonseca who bypassed the long line of students but planned on returning to get his free H1N1 vaccine.
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