 "Photo:")
Classes reached the midpoint of the semester last week, bringing heavier workloads for students, longer nights of studying at King Library and full days of running to classes and meetings.
With flu season quickly approaching, all this stress and activity takes a toll on the body, leaving students more susceptible to contracting the virus. However, there are several options available to students to protect themselves from influenza.
According to Sharon Osterberger, nursing supervisor at the Student Health Services Center, between 5 and 20 percent of the American population contract influenza every year. This means that approximately 800 to 3,200 Miami students will develop flu symptoms this year. However, that number far overshadows the number of students proactively seeking to protect themselves from the virus.
"Normally we only see 450 students a year," Osterberger said.
Osterberger explained that many students do not believe flu shots to be a necessity, but due to the unique living conditions of college students, she believes that even if students have not taken flu vaccines before, they should get immunized now.
"In high school, students lived with their families and saw different people at school," Osterberger said. "They did not have large exposure to people who are ill for more than six or eight hours a day. Now, they're living in a residence hall with 40 to 50 people on a quad who are sneezing and coughing. They're with the same population (for longer periods of time) so the exposure to sick people becomes higher."
According to Osterberger, the influenza virus is spread from person to person primarily through coughing and sneezing. The flu is highly contagious and infected students may transmit the virus to others before developing symptoms.
"You can pass on the flu to someone else before you even realize that you're sick," Osterberger said. "The flu can actually (be transmitted to) people one day before symptoms develop and five days after you become sick."
Osterberger explained that the most noticeable symptoms of the flu are a high fever, headache, muscle aches, and extreme tiredness, but they may be accompanied by a dry cough, sore throat and a runny or stuffy nose.
"Nausea and vomiting are usually not the flu, even though people sometimes call it the stomach flu," Osterberger said.
The Student Health Services Center is located on Campus Avenue between the Campus Avenue Building and the parking garage. Their hours of operation are 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, but for best service, Osterberger encourages students to come in the morning to get a flu shot when the clinic is less busy.
"We won't turn anybody away in the afternoon," Osterberger said. "They just may have a longer wait."
Osterberger also explained that the shots cost $20, but can be billed to insurance or a student's bursar account.
"All we charge is the actual cost of the vaccine," Osterberger said. "There is no administrative fee. We want more people to get the flu shot, so we don't want to make money the reason they don't get the shot."
According to Osterberger, Miami students have first priority for the supply of flu vaccines at the Student Health Services Center.
"Shots go to the students first over the faculty and staff," Osterberger said. "(Faculty and staff) can get the vaccine, but they don't use the Student Health Services, they use a different company."
Osterberger explained that several flu shot options for faculty, staff, and community members are available in other Oxford locations not typically associated with vaccinations, such as Kroger and Wal-Mart.
"The pharmacists at Kroger are well qualified to give shots," Osterberger said. "It's an easy way for elderly people to get flu shots. It's advertised, so they just go."
According to Scott Sellers, a pharmacist at Kroger, the store's pharmacy has been offering flu shots for the past five or six years. He also strongly encourages students to get vaccinated against the flu.
"The best thing to do is to get a flu shot," Sellers said. "Right now is the perfect time to do it to build up immunity before the actual flu outbreak, which usually occurs around the first of the year."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, if students do contract the flu, the best treatments are to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Some medical treatments are available to relieve the symptoms.
"(If students contract the flu), the best thing for them to do would be to go to the health center to get treatments to lessen severity of the flu," Sellers said.
