Coughs and sniffles are the background noise of every classroom right about now. Without proper care, a cold can lead to a worse illness, the flu. The main way to prevent getting the flu is to get vaccinated with the flu shot.
Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body, which provide protection against infection with the small amount of viruses that are in the vaccine. There are different strains of the flu, but flu vaccines prevent against the popular strains for that season.
There are two types of vaccines: shot and nasal spray. There are pros and cons to each and personal preference plays a role in which you decide to get. The main difference between the two is that the shot is injected into your arm with a needle and contains a dead influenza virus, while the spray, also known as FluMist is sprayed into the nose and contains a weakened live vaccine. Both are completely safe.
It is recommended that everyone get the vaccine, but especially people who are in close quarters, like college students, because it can easily spread. The last thing you need to deal with is to be sick while trying to balance school work, a social life, and everything in between.
Most insurance companies cover for the vaccine in full or require a small co-pay. There are multiple places to get the shot or FluMist around UMass. Before you go, call your insurance company to see if they cover the cost or not because some don’t cover all of places with vaccines available.
Walk-in flu shots are available to UMass students at University Health Services every Thursday in October and on November 7 and 21. There are also many mobile clinics in different living areas around campus.
University Health Services
150 Infirmary Way
Other stores that have a flu shot clinic are:
CVS
76 North Pleasant Street
165 University Drive
Target
367 Russell Street, Hadley
Walgreens
31 Hall Drive