Flu season occurs each winter, and students must protect themselves from the infection. OCU students and employees can easily receive a flu vaccination from the Campus Health Clinic.
Clinic hours are 8-11:30 a.m. and 1-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Flu vaccines can be administered without a prior appointment and can take less than five minutes.
Shelli Mellor is a licensed practical nurse who works at the Campus Health Clinic. Before coming to OCU, Mellor worked in the immunizations department of the military.
“If you have campus health insurance or if you’re an employee here with the employee health plan, it’s just as simple as walking in. There’s no appointment needed. By the time you fill out the paperwork and everything, it is a three to four-minute process,” Mellor said.
If someone does not have OCU health insurance, a flu vaccine costs $25 and can be paid for with cash, checkor credit card.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published multiple studies and reports about the importance of a flu vaccine. In the CDC’s Aug. 24 report “Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines,” doctors state that everyoneolder than six months should get a flu vaccine every season.
“Influenza viruses typically circulate in the United States annually, most commonly from late fall through early spring. Most persons who contract influenza will recover without sequelae. However, influenza can cause serious illness, hospitalization, and death, particularly among older adults, very young children, pregnant women, and those with certain chronic medical conditions” the report reads.
According to the CDC website, the only people who should not receive the vaccine are children younger than six months and people with severe allergies to the ingredients contained in the vaccine. The CDCreport also recommends that those who are allergic to eggs, those who have a history of Guillain-Barré Syndrome and those who do not feel well at the time of planned vaccination speak to a healthcare provider before receiving the vaccination.
People who are allergic to eggs, chickens or feathers may be unable to receive the traditional flu vaccine at the campus clinic, but the employees can help find a clinic that offers a different type of vaccination.
Mellor said the flu vaccine is especially important to college students who will soon travelfor the holidays or taking finals.
“You don’t want to get on a plane or anywhere else unprotected,” Mellor said. “You want to be protected to help protect those around you.”
In a Nov. 1 email to students, the Campus Health Clinic reported that the clinic would be closed that afternoon as the staff would be administering flu shots to students at the OCU Law School.
“We had an excellent turn out, they said one of the best that we’ve had over there,” Mellor said.
Kelly Pan, nursing senior, works at St. Anthony Hospital and has clinical experience assignmentsat Oklahoma UniversityChildren’s Hospital.
“In most hospitals, if you don’t get a flu shot, you have to wear a face mask for the entire flu season,” Pan said.
Pan saidthe importance of a flu shot for people who work with populations who may have compromised immune systems.
“If you have a job working with children or you have a job working with older people, then yes, you should be more enthusiastic about getting it,” Pan said.
College students also have to be careful about their risk of catching the flu, Pan said.
“Living in a dorm with a lot of people like that, it could spread very easily,” Pan said.
The Campus Health Clinic can be contacted at 405-208-5989 or at studenthealth@okcu.edu. The Clinic is located west of the Kramer School of Nursing.
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