Ohio University Students Offered Immunization Shots Next Fall

Contact: George Mauzy, (740) 597-1794 or mauzy@ohio.edu

ATHENS, Ohio (May 31, 2001) -- Next fall, the Student Health Service will team with VaccessHealth to provide an immunization clinic at Baker University Center Ballroom.

The immunization clinic will be offered on Oct. 25. Immunizations offered will be for influenza and bacterial meningitis and will only be available to Ohio University students. Influenza vaccines cost $19 while meningitis immunizations are $80. Students will be billed through their student accounts.

VaccessHealth specializes in providing college students with vaccines for preventable diseases. The company educates and notifies parents and students through the use of letters, flyers, posters and newspaper articles and has worked with more than 300 schools and 120,000 students around the country.

"We want to be proactive in the prevention of these diseases," said Jacki Legg, health service business manager. "Meningitis is a very serious illness which can be fatal, and influenza sometimes causes students to miss more than one week of class, which can have a detrimental impact on a students academic success, so immunizations are very important."

The American College Health Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that all students living in residence halls receive the meningitis vaccine.

For more information, contact Jacki Legg at (740) 593-1660 or legg@ohio.edu.