A new type of flu vaccine is being offered by the Thielen Health Center, but as flu season gets underway, supplies are running low.

Greg Yeakel, chief staff pharmacist at Thielen Student Health Center, said the health center staff members are able to give free FluMist, a form of the flu vaccine, to students as long as the supply does not run out.

FluMist contains a live, but weakened, flu virus that is delivered as a fine mist into the nose, where the influenza virus typically enters the body. Yeakel said it is the first intra-nasal influenza vaccine licensed in the United States.

Monday, state health officials confirmed a 1-year-old Iowa girl had died of the flu. As more people flock to receive traditional vaccines, more health care providers have turned to FluMist.

“This has been a real stretch for our staff, but they have handled it well. There has been a lot of hysteria around here though,” Yeakel said.

Students are able to receive the vaccination at no charge thanks to a gift from Wyeth, a research-based, global pharmaceutical company.

“Wyeth contacted us to announce that they would be doing this,” Yeakel said. “I believe it is a marketing deal for them; they are targeting college campuses because they know they will have a large, receptive audience.”

Originally marketed as a pain-free flu vaccination, FluMist has not yet been approved for use in toddlers and senior citizens.

Most college students are able to receive the vaccine in the form of FluMist, Yeakel said. “Most healthy adults in the age range of 5 to 49 years are able to receive FluMist.”

Yeakel said students with asthma are not able to receive the vaccine.

Students do not need an appointment to receive the vaccine. The vaccine is offered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Yeakel said students should allow about 30 minutes to receive the vaccine, but it rarely takes that long.

“We have extra staff to handle the rush periods, so there are times when students will only need five or 10 minutes to receive the vaccine,” Yeakel said. “However, sometimes there have been long lines of students waiting, so it may take a bit longer in some cases.”

Yeakel said one advantage of FluMist instead of the traditional flu shot is students do not have to wait at the health center to make sure there are not adverse affects after receiving it.

Yeakel said FluMist has been well-accepted, and students have had no common reactions to the vaccine.

Marc Shulman, chief of staff at the student health center, said more than 1,000 students have already received the vaccine.

“We’ve given about 300 to 400 a day for the past few days.” he said. “It’s been pretty steady over the last week.”

Yeakel said as long as the health center has the vaccine, they will continue to make it available to students.

“We will continue to give the vaccine to students when they return in January, as long as we haven’t run out, and I am optimistic that will not happen,” he said.

A few students have expressed interest in obtaining a refund for a flu shot they received before the free FluMist vaccination became available. Shulman said that is not possible.

“We had no idea this was coming,” he said. “It is a one-time special offer. When those students were receiving their shots, we had no idea they would have the option to receive a free vaccine later. We are not trying to handle this unfairly, we are just trying to make students aware of this new product, and it is a good product or we wouldn’t be doing this.”

Shulman said both FluMist and traditional flu vaccines are very effective in preventing influenza. Students are still able to receive the injectable form of the vaccine if they prefer.

“People can die from influenza or be sick for one or two weeks,” Shulman said. “It is a serious illness, and people need to take precautions against it.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this article.