The flu season has taken a head start this year, but some students expressed differing opinions as to whether they will be running to the clinic and getting a flu shot anytime soon.
On Nov. 30, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a weekly surveillance report indicating widespread influenza activity in Alaska, Mississippi, New York and South Carolina and sporadic influenza activity in 19 other states, including Maryland. The report also showed that the worst outbreaks are occurring in southeast regions of the country but that these will likely spread across the nation.
Last week during National Influenza Week, the university Health Center took extra steps to ensure that students stay healthy and began their annual tradition of offering free flu shots to students. Although last year’s mild influenza season encouraged some to get the flu shot again this year, some students remain skeptical of the injections.
“I almost always get the flu anyway,” junior English and Chinese major Norine McKee said.
However, Gail Lee, the clinical director at the Health Center, strongly recommends getting a flu shot as soon as possible, especially as the stress of finals tend to weaken students’ immunity systems.
“When you get a shot, it takes up to two weeks to develop full immunity,” Lee said. “What happens sometimes is that the flu hits and everyone’s like, ‘Oh my god, I want the flu shot.’ But it might be too late for them, so earlier is better.”
Lee said that although the university has not seen any overwhelming cases of the flu yet, the campus typically goes through little runs of other illnesses such as strep throat, mono, and allergy-related sicknesses. She added the flu tends to be less serious during some years and much worse during others.
“Last year was the lightest year in my career that I’ve seen,” she added. “The first cases of flu that were in Maryland had just come up a couple weeks ago in Baltimore. We have not seen any documented cases at the university yet, but it could hit at any time. Sometimes students get sick at the wrong time, and they mess up their semester or finals.”
The CVS Pharmacy on Route 1 also began offering flu shots in November, and employee Jessica Lewandowski also expects more people to come in for shots over the next few weeks.
“Flu shots were really popular last month,” she said. “They’re being pushed back a bit because of the holidays, but this week we’ve been doing a whole lot, so they’re becoming more and more popular now because it’s getting colder out and people realize it’s flu season.”
Lewandowski also said cough medicines are in high demand, which is likely related to the seasonal influenza.
“It’s our number one seller right now … for what seems to be a respiratory infection,” she said. “That seems to be the most popular one.”
Although some students said the idea of getting a shot is less than attractive, senior engineering and materials science major Zara Simpson said she makes the yearly effort due to her past experience with the flu.
“I didn’t [get the shot] two years ago and at the time I said, ‘I should go get the flu shot tomorrow,’” Simpson recalled. “I got the flu before I made it to the flu shot. It was terrible, but now I get it every year.”
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