On Wednesday, Sept. 24, the GCSU School of Nursing and Department of Public Health hosted a flu vaccination clinic at the Make-a-Wish Fountain on Main Campus, offering students and faculty free flu vaccines. This fall, GCSU has already seen an influenza outbreak, but the flu season is just getting started.
“We’ve already had a big wave of flu B, which came through in August. There’s different strains of flu, and the flu vaccine actually provides coverage for several different strains of flu, which is nice,” said Dr. Kim Griffin, a nurse practitioner at GCSU Student Health Services and the flu clinic organizer.
Griffin explained that because flu strains circulate at different times throughout the season, even students who have already been sick this year still benefit from getting vaccinated.
“The flu vaccine doesn’t necessarily keep you from getting the flu, but it definitely keeps it from becoming severe,” Griffin said.
While students might originally miss a whole week of classes, those who are vaccinated often have milder symptoms, missing just a day or two. Besides reducing the severity of illness, the vaccine can also help prevent infection altogether.
“Flu shots are important because it’s a sense of prophylaxis, you’re preventing the chance of getting the flu.” said Madison Townsend, a senior nursing major administering vaccines at the clinic. “The flu is very contagious, so whenever there is an outbreak, you have an increased immunity if you choose to get your flu shot,” When someone receives the vaccine, it introduces weakened or inactive viruses directly into the bloodstream. This triggers the body’s immune system to produce antibodies against the virus without causing illness. If the patient encounters the actual virus later, these antibodies are already present and ready to recognize and neutralize it.
Griffin also emphasized that choosing to get a flu shot protects the overall community, especially those who are more at risk of catching the flu or having complications should they get infected.
“It also helps protect your community, the people that you are around, like other students, your teachers, and then of course when you go home on break, your families, especially the older, more vulnerable family members, like grandparents,” Griffin said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone six months and older, especially those at higher risk of complications, receive a flu vaccine every season. However, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reported that only 43.1 percent of adults received a flu shot in the past year.
“The most common misconception that I hear is that the flu shot gave me the flu.” Griffin said. “So, what I tell people is that the flu shot itself is a dead virus. There’s no way it can give you the flu.”
Another misunderstanding is how long the virus takes to be effective, as students may get vaccinated but still catch the flu shortly afterward.
“I tell the students that come in to get the flu shot, okay, it’ll take two weeks for you to be fully armed and ready,” Griffin said.
Students will have several more opportunities to get vaccinated this fall. The next flu clinic will be held on Oct. 22 at Main Campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In addition, the university is piloting a Mobile Flu Vaccine Clinic this year, bringing services directly to students at various campus locations. On Sept. 29 and Oct. 9, Griffin and her team will rotate between the Make-a-Wish Fountain (10–11 a.m.), Chick-fil-A (11 a.m.–12 p.m.), the Bobcat Head (12–1 p.m.) and the Residence Hall Reflection Pool (1–2 p.m.).
Students are encouraged to bring their insurance cards, either physical or digital, but if students do not have insurance, then the vaccination is free.