UA Campus-Wide Flu Shot Campaign to Kick Off this Week

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  — The University of Alabama is seeking to vaccinate students, faculty and staff against the flu with its annual campus-wide flu shot campaign, which starts this week and continues into November.

The vaccination effort is being led by the University’s College of Community Health Sciences.

This is the fourth year the College has led the campaign to protect University students and employees against the flu. The goal of the campaign is to make getting a flu shot as easy and convenient as possible. Last year, more than 8,000 vaccinations were given.

Flu shots will be provided at sites across campus, including the Quad, University buildings and student residence halls during September and October.

Vaccines will be administered by nurses from the College’s University Medical Center, the University’s Student Health Center and the Capstone College of Nursing. WellBAMA is also participating in the campaign.

Flu shots will be given at the following locations:

• Wednesday, Sept. 9: Child Development – room 214; 9 to 11 a.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 10: Rose Administration — Ground Floor Break Room; 7:30 to 10 a.m.
• Monday, Sept. 14: Capstone College of Nursing; noon to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 15: Bryant Conference Center; 7:30 to 9 a.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 16: Patty Hall, Lobby and Tutwiler Hall noon to 4:30 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 18: Ridgecrest South, Lobby; noon to 4:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 23: Quad in Motion, Quad; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 23: Student Health Fair, Ferguson Center; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 24: Presidential Village I and Presidential Village 2; noon to 4:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 30: Quad (Northeast and Southwest corners) and the Ferguson Center Plaza; 1 to 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 7: UA Health Fair, Coleman Coliseum, 7:30 to 10 a.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 8: Riverside, Community Room; noon to 4:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 8: Mary Burke West; 1 to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 20: Gorgas Library; 7:30 to 11 a.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 28: UAPD Training Room, Room 2003; 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 3: Reese Phifer, Rotunda; 7:30 to 11 a.m.

A list of dates, times and locations can also be found at cchs.ua.edu/flushot.

Flu shots will also be provided at the University Medical Center and its Faculty-Staff Clinic. The shots are provided at no charge, and insurance is not required. Students and employees will need to provide their Campus Wide Identification.

Spouses of employees can get the free flu vaccines at the flu shot stations or at the Faculty-Staff Clinic at University Medical Center; insurance is not required. Children of all employees can also receive flu vaccinations.

Children of employees with UA health insurance can receive the vaccinations at University Medical Center, and children of employees with non-UA health insurance can receive flu shots at the Faculty-Staff Clinic if their insurance has previously approved nurse practitioner coverage.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone aged 6 months and older get a flu vaccine annually. According to the CDC, a flu vaccine is needed every year because flu viruses are constantly changing, and it is not unusual for new flu viruses to appear. The flu vaccine is formulated each year to keep up with the flu viruses as they change.

The flu remains a serious threat, said Dr. Richard Streiffer, dean of the College of Community Health Sciences.

“Tens of thousands of people in the country who are unprotected by the vaccine will become ill, miss work, have complications or even require hospitalization,” Streiffer said. “And for those at the greatest risk — the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions — the stakes are even higher. Thousands of deaths occur from the flu some years. We can all do our part to lower the risk for ourselves and for others. Get protected. Get your flu shot.”

Risks associated with receiving a flu shot are extremely small, and the viruses in the flu shot are inactivated so they cannot cause the flu, according to the CDC. For more information, visit cchs.ua.edu/flushot.