Flu Shot Campaign Begins

Vector Elephant with ribbon (2)The annual University of Alabama flu shot campaign, an effort by the University to protect students, faculty and staff from the flu, kicks off Sept. 7 with free vaccinations provided at the UA Law School.

Flu shots will be provided during the months of September, October and November at locations across campus, including the Quad, University buildings and student residence halls. The shots are free and no insurance is required. Students and employees will need to provide their Campus Wide Identification.

The goal of the flu shot campaign, which is led by UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, is to make getting a flu shot as easy and convenient as possible. Last year, more than 8,000 vaccinations were given.

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

Spouses of employees can also receive the free flu vaccines at the campus flu shot stations or at the Faculty-Staff Clinic in University Medical Center, and insurance is not required. Children of employees with UA health insurance can also receive flu 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.

Flu shots will also be provided at University Medical Center and its Faculty-Staff Clinic.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising that FluMist, the nasal spray flu vaccine, should not be used during the 2016-17 flu season due to very low effectiveness and poor protective benefit. For this reason, the nasal spray flu vaccine will not be made available during the flu shot campaign or by University Medical Center until further notice.

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 http://cchs.ua.edu/flushot.

A list of dates, times and locations for flu shots can be found at http://cchs.ua.edu/flushot and at http://www.facebook.com/UAflushot/.