State sees 200 times more cases than last year
Student Health Services was out of flu vaccines Tuesday and plans to order more in the next few days, health center officials said.
In the meantime, students who still need the vaccine should try to find them at alternate locations, like local pharmacies, said Nicole Carrico, a spokeswoman for Student Health Services.
However, supplies are limited — the Walgreens on Blossom Street has just 20 vaccines left and isn’t planning to order more.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends still getting the vaccine even though it’s late in the season due to the flu strain’s unpredictability and tendency to circulate as late as May.
“The most important thing people can do is get the flu shot. It’s the single best way to avoid getting the flu,” Carrico wrote in an email response.
Students should also continue to practice other preventative measures by washing their hands and avoiding contact between the hands and face, Carrico said.
“Make great use of hand sanitizer and soap and water at every chance you get. If you have gotten the flu shot and keep your hands clean, you’ll fare the best this and every flu season,” Carrico wrote.
This year’s flu season, which began in September, saw a significant increase in cases both in South Carolina and in the United States. In fact, this season is turning out to be the worst flu season since the swine flu, or H1N1, outbreak in 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are anticipating a 10-year high in ‘regular’ flu — notwithstanding a pandemic like H1N1 — this season for our state and are expecting the USC campus to be hit hard as students return from holiday break,” Dr. Debbie Beck, Student Health Services’ executive director, said.
South Carolina saw 3,206 positive flu tests during the last week in December, which was 200 times more than last year, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
So far this flu season, roughly 100 positive flu cases have been tested through the university’s on-campus lab, Carrico said. Last year, the first positive flu case of the season did not occur until late January.
This year’s flu is not just more prevalent, but also appears to be more dangerous than in years past.
As of Jan. 11, 22 people in South Carolina have died from the flu this season, and 1,084 hospitalizations have been attributed to it.
Those numbers are still lower than 2009, when a flu pandemic resulted in 49 official deaths in the state throughout the course of the season.
About 400,000 people in South Carolina are expected to get the flu this season.