Flu season is right around the corner, which means the next few weeks are the best time to get your flu shot. For Pitt students, it’s incredibly easy—and free! I just got my own flu shot at the HealthyU Fair, and there are many more dates all the way through November. All I needed was to bring my Pitt ID and to know my PeopleSoft ID (a seven digit ID code that you can find by logging into your Student Center and going to Self Service > Campus Personal Information > Demographic Information). It was completely free and only took a few minutes!
Pitt offers free walk-in clinics and free traveling clinics to get your flu shot, so you can go whenever and wherever works best for you. The complete list of dates and locations can be found here. If you can’t make any of these dates, you can also get flu shots at Ride Aid and CVS. They accept most insurance plans, so just make sure to bring your insurance card.
Once you’ve gotten your vaccine, it takes about two weeks for it to fully kick in. Since the flu season tends to be at its peak around December to February, try to get your flu shot by the end of October, so you have plenty of time for it to work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have monitored the peak months of flu activity over thirty-four years, from 1982 to 2016, which you can see here. Even if the flu most frequently tends to peak during February, it can still be around all the way until May, so don’t let missing your chance to get a vaccine in October deter you from getting one.
If you want to know more about flu shots, you can read about some common misconceptions here, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and learn the truth, such as how getting a flu shot won’t cause the flu. You can also read about benefits of the vaccine and why you should get it here. If you’re able to get a flu shot, but you’re on the fence about it, just think about this: nobody wants to take their exams while sick with the flu.
Pictures: 1