Between classes, work and extracurricular activities, students at The University of Alabama barely have time for themselves – much less time to get the flu. 

Every year, The University of Alabama’s College of Community Health Sciences leads a free flu shot campaign across campus that works to keep the infection rate low on campus. The campaign runs from September until November and all that is needed to receive a flu shot is a campus ID – no insurance or money. 

“The goal of the flu shot campaign is to provide easy and accessible flu vaccinations for UA faculty, staff and students,” said Leslie Zganjar, director of communications for the College of Community Health Sciences.

Katie Barrow, sophomore nutrition major, is one of the many students who think that the flu campaign is successful at accomplishing its goal. Barrow said all she had to do was fill out a quick form at the station to get her shot.  

”It was convenient, free and right on campus,” Barrow said. “I don’t really have a doctor now and it was super quick and easy.” 

Last year, during the annual flu shot campaign, The University of Alabama gave over 8,000 flu shots to UA faculty, staff and students. 

This year, according to Zganjar, the University is hoping to give 10,000 vaccinations. The campaign kicked off on September 7th, and as of Sept. 25, they are over half way to their goal. The campaign is running until Nov. 9.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention provides a list of the symptoms of influenza on their website, but a few of the many symptoms are headaches, fever, fatigue and vomiting. These symptoms only get worse for young children, elderly and people with preexisting medical conditions. Zganjar points out that most people have connections to people that fall into at least one of those increasingly impacted categories. 

The CDC says that the best way to prevent oneself from the flu is to get vaccinated every year since the virus is always changing. 

For more information about where and when free flu shots are available, consult the map below and visit https://cchs.ua.edu/flushot/.