Just as University Health Services saw a drop in the number of people reporting swine flu-like symptoms for the second straight week, it announced Monday the H1N1 vaccine is now available to all students.

UHS Director Sarah Van Orman said 2,000 doses of the vaccine are currently available and she expects more to arrive in the coming weeks.

The vaccine is currently being given at UHS between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m, but there will also be a mass clinic next week, though no exact date has been set.

Despite the availability of the vaccine, Van Orman encouraged students not to worry about coming in before Thanksgiving break because there will be more than enough doses.

“Students should not panic and rush in the next two days,” Van Orman said. “If they have time, come get [the vaccine], but we’re still going to keep getting it.”

With many students heading home for Thanksgiving break, Van Orman said UHS is concerned about the risk of an outbreak, but not as significantly as they would over a longer break, such as at the end of the semester.

“We’re more concerned about it over Christmas break because it’s a longer break,” Van Orman said. “But we are concerned that if people go home and then come back, they are at risk.”

Van Orman also said students should feel free to get the vaccine at home over break if they want, but UHS will have sufficient amounts for anyone willing to receive it.

Compared to other University of Wisconsin System schools, Van Orman said UW is not the only campus just starting to receive large doses of the vaccine, saying most schools had only received a few hundred doses until last week, but more have recently arrived.

According to Van Orman, the availability of the vaccine came as a result of the Wisconsin Department of Public Health announcing health care facilities could revert to the original list of target groups since there were sufficient amounts of the vaccine available.

Before this decision, priority was given to people at risk for contracting the illness such as healthcare workers, pregnant women, childcare providers and people with underlying medical conditions. Now, anyone under the age of 24 is able to receive the vaccine.

The announcement came on the same day UHS released data indicating a drop in the number of students complaining of influenza-like-illness.

Last week, UHS saw 35 students compared to 46 in the previous week. Those cases account for only 2.6 percent of primary care visits.

Craig Roberts, epidemiologist at UHS, said UW has passed the peak which occurred during the week of Nov. 7, when 115 cases of ILI were seen.

He attributed this downward trend to nature taking its course but said officials at UHS are unsure whether the downward trend will continue.

“Pandemic influenza, which is what H1N1 is, usually occurs in waves, and so we’ve had two major waves in the U.S…. but we can’t assume it’s over — that’s sort of the bottom line,” Roberts said.