A report from the Center for Disease Control said American adults are not getting enough vaccines, and Ruth Meier, a nurse at the Student Health Center, agreed that students need more immunizations than they receive.
While the Health Center has administered 2,588 flu vaccines this year, including 556 this semester, Meier said that there were probably less than usual because the flu outbreak began late this year.
“More students get flu shots when the flu comes earlier,” she said, and the season’s first lab-confirmed case of influenza came on Jan. 3.
Meier said students should also be aware of the risk for meningococcal meningitis, as only 65 people have received the vaccine from health services.
“Students get meningococcal during cases of outbreak, for example — a couple of years ago where there was a breakout [in North Carolina],” she said.
While Meier said she recommended that students obtain more vaccinations, Katie Fernandez, a senior in microbiology, said most students aren’t concerned about getting them.
“I don’t think [vaccines are] worth it based on the probability that I will get sick [from the vaccine],” Fernandez said. “I’ve gotten the flu once in the past three years.”
Fernandez said that while she has to be updated with shots for employment reasons, she has not received a flu shot from Health Services.
“I don’t get a flu shot because I think it’s pointless if there’s going to be a new strain next year,” she said.
North Carolina requires that students possess an up-to-date immunization record including polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and DTP before attending a state university, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services,
Meier said 358 women have also received the series of vaccines for the human papillomavirus.
The cost for the HPV vaccine is higher than others, with each portion of the series costing $148. Flu shots are available for $15, while the meningococcal meningitis vaccine costs $107 at the Student Health Center.
According to the Student Health Services Web site, there is a travel clinic available in which students can receive proper immunizations necessary for the region in which they are studying abroad. The cost for the clinic is $45 plus the cost of immunizations.
