In response to recent flu diagnoses, the Student Health Center will give vaccinations from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday at the University Hub.

“Any student can come to it, but we’re trying to target the kids who live in dorms since they live in close proximity to tons of other people,” said Jill Cannaday, the center’s nursing supervisor.

Within the past two weeks, five students have been confirmed with the H1N1 influenza strain, Cannaday said.

No students required hospitalization, Cannaday said. The vaccinations should reduce the number of students catching the virus. 

Even though these five cases were confirmed, the Student Health Center has been seeing more students with influenza-like symptoms, Cannaday said.

At the staff’s public health meeting last week, Cannaday said she learned that the rapid test for influenza can provide a false negative,

To be on the safe side, the center has been treating students for symptoms even if the test reported no influenza, Cannaday said.

The health center recommends self isolation for influenza-struck patients, but that’s difficult to achieve in dorm-style housing, Cannaday said.

Cannaday met with resident assistants Jan. 27 to give them helpful information for their residents, Cannaday said. She also provided flu kits, masks and Purell hand sanitizer.

Yessenia Funes can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_yfunes on Twitter.