Starting today, the University’s Student Health Center will administer the flu vaccine to students and faculty at little to no cost.
So far this semester, physicians at the Student Health Center have already seen 42 cases of the flu before what they consider the peak of flu season, said Student Health Center Associate Director Julie Hupperich.
The vaccine is effective for about six months, the usual duration of flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Student Health Center is giving an inactive vaccine shot that protects against three strands of the flu, according to Student Health Center physician Nelson Perret.
Students who get the vaccine may get a headache and muscle pains, but that is the immune system’s reaction to the vaccine — not the flu, Perret said.
The Student Health Center provides the shot in October to give students the most effective protection, Hupperich said.
The vaccine is free to full-time students and available to part-time students for $10 and faculty for $20, Hupperich said.
The Flu Shots on the Geaux program brings the flu vaccines to different locations across campus so students can conveniently get the vaccine in minutes. Its goals also include persuading students who would not normally get the vaccine to get it, Hupperich said.
Flu shots will be available following the conclusion of the Flu Shots on the Geaux program while supplies last, but more may be ordered if demand increases once supplies run out, Hupperich said.
The government shutdown did not affect the University’s ability to get its order of the flu vaccine, but if the Student Health Center’s supply runs out, it could be difficult to get more shots because the vaccine was not produced while the government was closed, Hupperich said.