by: Erin Morrison
On the Oct. 9 and 10, Parkland held a flu immunization clinic in the Student Life Department. Students, faculty, staff and community members could come and receive a flu shot. The attendance for this year’s flu clinic surpassed that of previous years. Sara Maxwell, the Wellness Coordinator at Parkland College said that, “In past years, we have vaccinated approximately 250 to 275 people. An amazing 480 people came to the clinic this year.”
There has been a flu clinic every year at Parkland for many years, but this was the first time Parkland has partnered with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. Public Health also holds their own flu clinic at their department building.
Even though this was only the first time that Champaign-Urbana Public Health and Parkland had partnered for the flu clinic, they have partnered for other clinics in the past. Candi Crause, director of teen and adult services at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the flu clinic director, said that public health holds a sexual health clinic twice a year at Parkland. They also enroll people for Medicaid.
Something else that was new to this year’s flu clinic was that people could bring their insurance card. If someone did not have insurance, they could be signed up for Medicaid at the on the spot.
Director Crause said it takes approximately two weeks after you get the shot to become immune to the flu; this is an especially important season to get a flu shot. Crause said it is, “predicted to be pretty bad this year.” There have already been cases of respiratory viruses, but none so far have been in Champaign County.
According to Crause, it is important to get a flu shot for you own health but also for the people around you. By getting a flu shot, you can prevent the spread of the disease and protect people who cannot get the vaccine. This includes babies under six months and people with weakened immune systems. Crause told the Prospectus that older people can also be at risk and that even some older people who do get a flu shot can still get the flu.
Maxwell also added that, “Influenza is a serious illness that can lead to death for those with weakened immune systems. This includes those going through cancer treatments, pregnancies, HIV and AIDS, as well as those that are very young or old. For those that do not fall in this category, the flu shot may still help prevent them from getting the flu as well as protect those around them.”
Those administering the shots at the clinic this year were public health nurses and Parkland nursing faculty and students. The option of having Parkland nursing students administer the flu shots was another first for this year’s clinic. Nursing students Casey Coon, Laura Haurerspaerger, Laura Navarrete and Mark Fernando were giving flu shots at the clinic on Oct. 10. Each nursing student thought it was great experience for them to have while they are still learning. They got a lot of hands-on experience at the clinic; Haurerspaerger said in just one day she had given shots to 60–70 students. Coon also saw the clinic as giving back to Parkland and the community. Fernando told the Prospectus that he liked giving stickers to the kids that came to the clinic to make them happier.
Navarrete hopes future nursing students can do more clinics, which is possible considering that Crause and Maxwell both said they hope to partner for the flu clinic in the future.
