Small stock of H1N1 vaccine expected by next week

Tufts' Health Service expects about 50 doses of H1N1 vaccine to arrive within the next week and will distribute them to students who are pregnant or have serious medical conditions.

In an e-mail to the Tufts community early this morning, administrators stated that the university had yet to receive any of the vaccine and did not know when it will arrive or in what quantity. Director of Health Service Margaret Higham notified the community in an e-mail several hours later of the small shipment to arrive by next week.

Health Service will give priority to students under 25 who are taking immunosuppressive medication or have an immune difficiency, students under 25 who do not have a spleen and those who have lung disease or diabetes. Pregnant students of any age will also receive top priority.

Higham said the university hopes to vaccinate all students  when they receive adequate supplies.

"We have ordered thousands of doses of H1N1 vaccine, and expect to eventually immunize all students under 25, and those 25 or older with any high-risk condition," Higham said in the e-mail. "However we do not yet have an estimated delivery time for a large shipment."

--Alexandra Bogus