UNC Mirror

Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Jade DeGood Getting his flu shot, freshman Business major Travis Herman was one of many students and faculty members who have been vaccinated this year.

Colder weather has arrived and so has the return of the cold and flu season and the Student Health Center has made it easier for students to protect themselves against becoming sick this season.

Influenza vaccinations are offered to all UNC students for just $25. College students are especially recommended to get the shot because of the extremely close contact in classes, dorms and apartments. Each year more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and 35,000 people die from complications of the flu.

Influenza is a respiratory disease of the nose, throat and lungs that is communicable through air droplets via coughing, sneezing and kissing. A victim can catch one of three different types of the illness. The virus mutates constantly, changing the immunization yearly. The flu shot is anywhere from 70-90 percent effective for anyone under the age of 65.

Many students do not want to get the flu shot in fear that they will get the actual illness from the shot. Some do not believe the disease is serious.

Junior Psychology major Jacob Adams sees no real reason to get the flu shot.

"I never get sick so I feel there's no need to pump those chemicals into my body," Adams said.

Flu shot vaccinations have been around since the 1960s and prior to that there were influenza epidemics since. Students with allergies to eggs should check before getting it because the immunization is made with an egg base.

"We encourage everybody to get the flu shot," said Denise Taylor, a registered nurse at the Student Health Center. "Students don't take the flu as a serious disease."

There are still some measures that students can take to help in the fight against getting the flu. Avoid close contact with those already sick, wash hands often, cover your mouth if you have gotten sick, avoid touching your eyes or mouth and to stay home when you are sick.

"If you are running a fever, you shouldn't be in class, which is hard for most college students because attendance is sometimes part of a grade," Taylor said.

Telling the difference between a common cold and the flu is fairly simple too. The flu is a fever at or above 101 degrees and full body exhaustion. The flu is also suddenly onset rather than the gradual onset of the cold.  

Many students have already gotten theirs and feel that it is smart thing to do.

"My parents told me to get one," said Ilyse Gidan, a sophomore elementary education major. "I think it is a prevention thing. It's a good idea to get one".

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