As many as they can get vaccinated

Dr. Dennis Garcia in his office Tuesday.

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Story Published: Nov 17, 2009 at 11:15 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 17, 2009 at 11:15 PM PDT

By Matt Loveless

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PULLMAN - WSU students have just days left before a full holiday week off, but health officials on campus are worried they might bring back more than a stomach full of turkey.

Dr. Dennis Garcia of the WSU Health and Wellness Service said Whitman County only got about 600 of the 20,000 requested doses of H1N1 vaccine, but now Health and Wellness is making a push to get students vaccinated before the leave for home.

"We're finding that a lot of the students who came down with H1N1 are having a weakened immune system and are coming back with other illnesses that is affecting their health and ability to go to class," said Garcia.

The scare that spread across campus late this summer is still bringing up to 20 students to the Wellness Center every day. In response, WSU is providing free vaccinations to all students on a first come, first serve basis.

"We tried to set up very short appointments, so they can come in and get the vaccination, and not hopefully have to wait very long for that process to occur. And again there's no charge for vaccination and no charge for our time," said Garcia.

Garcia said they're on high alert, because flu season hasn't even reached it's peak, and expects this to get worse, at the worst possible time for students.

"With finals coming up here in a few weeks, they're spending a lot of time in study groups, finishing group projects, and working a little bit harder than they normally would," said Garcia. "We'll see a surge, definitely after Thanksgiving. I don't think any students want to be sick before finals."

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