Quinnipiac University Student Health Services hosted its first of seven flu shot clinics on all three campuses for faculty, staff and students, on Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The first three clinics are at the North Haven Campus of Medicine, Nursing and Health and Sciences. From Oct. 5-7, the clinics will be held at the Mount Carmel Campus in SC-119. The last two sessions are at the York Hill Campus on Oct. 12-13 in RTSC-311.
Participants need to provide their medical insurance information during registration for the clinic they plan on attending. Ninety-six percent of insurance plans cover the cost of the flu vaccine.
Even though COVID-19 is a bigger concern right now, compared to the flu, Dr. David Hill, senior medical adviser for Quinnipiac’s COVID-19 task force said that it is always important for Quinnipiac to have the flu clinics whether COVID-19 is an issue.
“Influenza typically has a huge burden of illness in the population each year with both physician visits, hospitalization and mortality, particularly associated with those who are elderly or have co morbid conditions,” Hill said.
Hill added that he thinks Quinnipiac holds these sessions at the appropriate time, with the flu season usually starting around late October and wanes towards the end of February through March.
“We get people vaccinated at the beginning of the season because we want to protect against influenza,” Hill said. “Two, we want to remove visits from our Student Health Center services that might be influenza. It just decreases the burden on our health system, both within Quinnipiac and in general.”
Flu season is different each year. In 2017 influenza visits were higher, but in 2015, rates were lower. Even though COVID-19 has had a negative impact on our world in several ways, there is surprisingly a silver lining which is that the flu did not spread as much as usual in 2021, Hill said.
“It was below the threshold, and it was below any year of influenza,” Hill said. “That was because we were all wearing masks. The mitigation efforts for COVID completely abolished the flu and that’s great.”
Hill said that there was an increase in the flu above the baseline in previous years for the summer months. This happened because Hill said viruses are affecting individuals in times when places are more crowded, which was in the summer months the two previous years. “As we relaxed efforts for masking over the summer months, there’s been a slight increase,” Hill said.
However, Hill is cautiously optimistic that the policies Quinnipiac has implemented along with Connecticut will mitigate flu season. With flu season approaching, there are three things Hill recommends people should do to protect themselves.
“That was because we were all wearing masks. The mitigation efforts for COVID completely abolished the flu and that’s great.”
Dr. David Hill, Quinnipiac University Senior Medical Advisor
“What works is that you maintain your personal hygiene, covering your cough and washing your hands,” Hill said.” It’s wearing masks in public spaces, where you might be exposed to other people’s respiratory viruses and it’s getting vaccinated against the flu and COVID.”
The good news is that people do not need to be concerned if they plan on getting the flu and COVID-19 shot at the same time. Hill said that there is good information that suggests it is completely safe because most people got their COVID-19 vaccine weeks or months ago.
With the flu and COVID-19 both being around this upcoming winter, Hill encourages those who haven’t been vaccinated to get vaccinated. Along with that, Hill wants other students to try to encourage those who are unvaccinated because it is up to the students.
“It’s a partnership and we’re going to trust you as a student body because we’re here for you.,” Hill said. “That’s why I’m a faculty member for Quinnipiac. The students should hopefully trust us in the leadership and as our educators. If we can work together, we will continue the semester where we can have sporting events, activities and indoor classes.”
More information regarding the flu clinics, including registration for the flu shot, can be found via Quinnipiac’s website page.