Pictured Above: Posters around campus advertise free flu shots offered by the Wellness Center.
Courtesy of the Wellness Center
By Molly Ryan
The fall months are here and it’s not just pumpkin spice season – it’s flu season too.
The Wellness Center is offering free flu shots for students who present a student ID as well as staff who present an insurance card.
“Not only does the flu vaccine help prevent you from getting sick with the flu, it also has been shown to reduce the number of cases of the flu, hospitalizations and deaths,” said Victoria Beltran, the assistant director of prevention services at the Wellness Center.
“In addition, getting the flu vaccine yourself may protect those people around you that are vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies, children, and older people with chronic health conditions.”
While easily curable for most, the flu is still something taken seriously by health professionals.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “influenza is a potentially serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and influenza infection can affect people differently.
“Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are used to make the vaccine.”
COVID-19 and the flu share similar symptoms and, according to National Geographic, getting both respiratory illnesses simultaneously is a possibility.
For students living on a college campus, getting the flu shot would keep its spread under control.
“It’s important now more than ever,” freshman biology major Emma Schilling said. “…because (of) the ability for the cells in a person’s body to recognize a harmful specimen, they will be able to expel it.”
Flu shots will be available in front of SLC Tuesdays 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. as well as Wednesdays (except for this coming Wednesday, Oct. 14) from noon to 4 p.m.
“Protect yourself and others by getting your flu vaccine,” Beltran said.
For more information, call the Wellness Center at 727-873-4422 or visit its website.
