Student Health Services
Bush Campus Center, Room 150 · (570) 320-5234
Flu Vaccines
Student Health Services has received a shipment of flu vaccine. Flu vaccines will be available for all Penn College students, faculty, and staff. The cost of the vaccine is $20, payable by cash, check, credit card, or Wildcat Plus.
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Daily vaccine clinics begin Oct. 22 Monday-Friday, 9-11a.m. & 2-4 p.m. Student Health Services, Campus Center, Room 150 |
The flu is a very contagious illness spread by person-to-person contact. It can
cause mild to severe symptoms and, at times, may even result in death.
Complications can range from pneumonia, bronchitis, ear infections and sinus
infections. Persons with chronic illnesses, such as asthma, may experience
worsening of their disease process. The single best way to prevent seasonal flu
is to get a flu vaccination each year. Immunity and long-term protection is not
acquired due to the constant change in the influenza viruses yearly.
Yearly vaccination is recommended for all people living in dormitories or under
crowded conditions, health-care workers, those with chronic illness or weakened
immune systems, household contacts or caregivers of young children.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that, in the United States each year,
approximately 5 to 20 percent of the population will become ill with the flu,
more than 200,000 people will be hospitalized from complications and about
36,000 will die from the flu. At Pennsylvania College of Technology, fewer than
10 percent will be vaccinated in the Student Health Services office. Some will
obtain flu vaccine from other sources (i.e., private physician offices), but
many will go unvaccinated, thereby putting themselves and those around them at
risk.
Putting off vaccination because of fear of side effects, time constraints or
needle phobias is common. Most side effects are mild: soreness at the injection
site, fever and body aches. These can begin soon after the injection and can
last one to two days. Life-threatening reactions are rare.
Experts from all over the world prepare for the new flu season each year by
assessing which strains will be the most contagious and thereby creating a
vaccine that will protect against them. This year, five pharmaceutical
manufacturers will produce and distribute flu vaccines guarding against three
different flu strains to hospitals and health centers worldwide, according to a
press release from the Food and Drug Administration.