BYU Employee Wellness, in partnership with the Student Health Center, will host a Flu Shot Clinic in the WSC Garden Court from Sept. 23-26.
Students, faculty and staff members, along with their families are welcome to visit the clinic anytime from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. during those days, with or without an appointment.
“The real big push for students getting vaccinated for influenza is because it’s such a contagious disease,” Dr. Liana Au, medical director of the BYU Student Health Center, said. “We’re just in such close quarters with each other.”
According to Au, the vaccine consists of proteins that mimic the previous year’s flu strains. When vaccinated, a patient’s immune system is given small amounts of the mimicking proteins to create antibodies that fight influenza, making the patient immune to those particular strains, Au said.
Wendy Jones, nursing director at the Student Health Center, has helped run the clinic for several years.
She said the clinic has been held annually on the BYU campus for at least 20 years and explained that offering flu vaccines “keeps the students in class and faculty teaching.”
BYU Employee Wellness coordinator Brooke Almond said students are more likely to get vaccinated because on-campus flu shots are so quick and easy.
“It’s just so fast that they get it and then they’re vaccinated,” Almond said. “Overall, it’s a really fast and simple experience.”
In addition to helping keep the campus community healthy, Almond said the clinic gives BYU nursing students the opportunity to practice inoculations.
BYU nursing students are thoroughly trained in giving vaccinations, Jones said, and this experience is highly beneficial for them. She said it “solidifies” their ability to administer hundreds of vaccines to patients of all ages.
According to the website, every patient planning to receive a vaccination must complete a waiver. Waivers can be completed online for those with a scheduled appointment or upon arrival for walk-ins.
While most insurances are accepted, the clinic does not accept Medicaid or Medicare. Patients must have their insurance policy number or can pay a $30 co-pay rate upfront.
More information on waivers, insurance, appointments or the clinic itself is available here.