Six months ago, Ball State University students and administrators first heard about H1N1 in the news as a few remote cases appeared in Mexico.
Since then, college students have been named a high-risk group for H1N1 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, while campus officials have been preparing for a flu season intensified by the first global pandemic in 41 years.
The virus, also known as swine flu, has infected about 18,000 people worldwide and caused 522 deaths in the United States.
However, as the weather gets colder and flu season starts, that doesn't mean students are more worried about H1N1.
"I've always thought it has been blown out of proportion," sophomore Kellie Smith said. "I've never really been worried about it."
Even students who consider themselves healthy, such as senior Jeff Bonneau, said the threat of H1N1 won't cause them to prepare differently for the upcoming months.
"It's definitely big talk," Bonneau said. "Nobody has died from it in a long time. I don't even think about it anymore."
Kent Bullis, director of the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, said he's not surprised about some students' apathy toward the virus, but continued to stress how important it is to be prepared.
"Students need to be aware of some of this information," Bullis said. "The natural tendency of college students is to not care about something until it affects them directly, then they want all the information they can get on the situation. If they prepare ahead of time, it should do a lot to hopefully avoid it."
UNIVERSITY PREPARATION
The university's pandemic response plan has been "continually evaluated" with the most updated information by the three-person Pandemic Assessment and Coordinating Team, or PACT, said Kay Bales, vice president for student affairs, and a member of the team.
The plan outlines a step-by-step guide for 12 university entities - ranging from the PACT team to international programs - if a campus outbreak would occur. Using three levels of severity, the plan walks administrators through what needs to happen to best contain and track the virus.
In addition, Bales said the university has purchased extra antiviral masks, hand sanitizer and signs reminding people to wash their hands in preparation for the busy flu season.
"We will have posters in a lot of places across campus," Bales said. "The hand sanitizer will be in a lot of public places where people may not be close to a restroom and able to wash their hands."
Bullis, who is also on the PACT team, said he is worried about the health center's ability to treat the potential influx of sick people. He said the health center normally has much more demand for its services than it is able to give. As flu season progresses, Bullis said that H1N1's spread will inevitably lead to longer lines and congested waiting rooms, but he is "determined" to get through what could turn into a long year.
With that in mind, Bullis said he's confident in the university's ability to battle the virus.
"I do think [the university is] pretty well prepared for it," Bullis said. "If this would have happened three or four years ago, I don't think I could have said that. What we've been preparing for the last two years or so is what we were afraid to be a potentially much, much worse situation than what we are probably going to have."
Thinking back, Bales also remembered just how far hysteria has come.
"[The CDC] originally said that once your fever breaks you shouldn't be in the population for seven days, now it's 24 hours," Bales said. "That shows how much expectations have changed."
VACCINES
Bullis said swine flu vaccines are scheduled to arrive at Ball State between mid-October and early November, as the United States plans to inoculate more than half the country's population within months.
Despite the outcry against the vaccine because of a link to the brain disorder Guillain-Barre-¦ Syndrome, Bullis said he has full confidence in their safety and would recommend that students get vaccinated.
Bullis said it will be a free vaccine that is not mandatory, but added that if a lot of people do not take it, many could get sick.
"If nobody gets a vaccine then I could estimate upwards to 30 to 50 percent of Ball State campus could get [H1N1]," he said.
Considering the scale of the effort, Bullis said there also might be complications.
"I don't believe there's going to be enough vaccines for everybody who wants one," he said. "We'll just have to see how much we can get."
He said vaccines will likely be distributed at well-traveled points around campus, such as the Arts and Journalism Building and the health center.
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