The lines at the University of Northern Iowa’s student health center have been long this week as students show up to get a meningitis vaccination. A U-N-I student died of meningitis over Thanksgiving break — the second U-N-I student to die of meningitis this school year. Student health center director Sue Courts says students got an e-mail Wednesday urging them to get a shot now because finals and the holidays put extra demands on them and students get worn down at this time of year. Courts says students aren’t getting enough sleep, they don’t eat right and become more susceptible to illness. Courts says students aren’t used to seeking health care on their own, so Courts and her staff are “working real hard” to get students comfortable with taking charge of their own health care needs. Courts says parents must be anxious, too, and the health center staff is helping the students “equip” their parents with information that might help ease those fears. The numbers of students seeking a vaccination over-taxed the clinic earlier this week, but Courts says they’ve got enough vaccine now. The meningitis vaccine is recommended for everyone between the ages of 18 and 29. The Black Hawk County Health Department is coordinating an effort among UNI, Hawkeye Community College and Allen Hospital’s School of Nursing to expand the number of vaccination sites in the county. County health officials plan to hold a news conference this afternoon (Thursday) to discuss developments. Twenty-year-old Luke Robenalt of Cedar Rapids, a U-N-I student, died of meningitis on Thanksgiving Day. Another U-N-I student — 20-year-old Elizabeth Huddelson of Cedar Rapids — died of meningitis on September 22nd.
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