By Mya Alexander, Robert Burgos, and Skyla Rogers
The USF Student Health and Wellness Center provided free flu shots to the University of South Florida students and faculty on Nov. 15 at the Student Marshall Center.
The Protect the Herd Before the Holidays campaign by the Student Health and Wellness Center aimed to give any student or faculty member a flu shot regardless of an appointment. The beginning of flu season starts in October and peaks in the winter months, according to the CDC.
Susanna Perez-Field, a Communications and Marketing Officer with the health center, explains how they try to provide vaccines to students the best way they can to aid in campus prevention.
“We try to make the flu shots and now COVID-19 boosters as accessible as possible to all students,” said Perez-Field. “The more vaccines we’re able to give out, the less cases we actually see.”
But this year, Perez-Field who has also been working with the health center for 15 years, noticed a decrease in the amount of vaccines they have been able to distribute so far compared to the previous year.
“Last year we actually gave out an increased number of flu vaccines and COVID-19 boosters by about 15%,” said Perez-Field. “This year, I don’t know if we’ll meet that.”
One reason, Perez-Field states, might be because of the lack of engagement the Student Health and Wellness Center received when posting about the campaign on the USF Health Services Facebook page, a group that consists mostly of parents and families of USF students.
“I would say that our USF family groups on our social media sites are big motivators for students getting their vaccines,” said Perez-Field. “ As students, if you hear from somebody that you care about and trust tell you to go get your flu shot, you’re more likely to do it.”
Parents are not the only reason why students might gravitate towards this event. Another factor is accessibility.
Nina Byrne, a student at USF’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, said she didn’t know about the free flu vaccinations until the day prior to the event. She explained she did not want to get sick and felt she might as well get the shot on the way to her classes.
The Student Health and Wellness Center is focused on protecting students before they leave for winter break and has all information regarding flu vaccinations and COVID-19 booster locations on its website.