Rationale for having flu shot by certain date

[SnoopysAunt]

Nurses-

Question for you! My program is mandating that we have flu shots by October 11...

I called around tonight and nobody has them!

I don't even start clinicals until February... Is there a rationale for mandating that I get it by October 11. I understand that students who have clinicals need to be immunized now, but considering i'm not going to be exposed to patients until Feb, is there are rationale for this decision that maybe I'm not understanding?

[BluegrassRN]

Perhaps the facilities at which you will be doing clinicals mandate all student nurses have the flu vax, and the school's administrative paperwork has to be in to the clinical sites by sometime in mid October.

Are you talking about the H1N1? Or seasonal flu? If you're talking about seasonal flu, I'm surprised no one has any vaccine in your area. I'm in the midwest, we've had it for at least 3 weeks. In my area, the pharmacies at the grocery stores and places like Walmart and Walgreens have been giving them out for some time now.

However, the H1N1 vaccine has yet to reach my area or to be distributed to even us health care workers.