Flu season is here: How to stay well this holiday season

Nursing students and Student Health Services nurse practitioner Kim Griffin at one of the pop-up flu vaccine clinics outside Arts and Sciences.

By Gil Pound

S easonal influenza activity has been low nationally, but is increasing as the holidays approach according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control.

Spanning from fall into spring, flu season is the time familiar symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches and fatigue crop up, possibly forcing one into a multi-day, not-so-fun vacation from school or work.

Many Georgia College & State University students, faculty and staff are returning home for the holidays with a layer of protection thanks to four pop-up flu vaccine clinics held on campus during the fall semester. The vaccine is readily available at Student Health Services on West Campus, but the pop-ups met students and the campus community where they were throughout the learning day. Two clinics were held outside the Arts & Sciences building - a high foot traffic area on campus - and another took place inside Wells Hall dormitory.

The pop-up clinics are manned by Georgia College School of Nursing practicum students meeting academic requirements for participation in community health events.

"Nursing doesn't just start in the hospital," said Dr. Talecia Warren, GCSU assistant professor of nursing. "Flu shots are preventative care. The flu can be deadly, and a lot of people don't quite realize that."

Senior and soon-to-be alumna MaKenzie Curry had experience treating patients with heparin and insulin in shot form during hospital learning rotations, but the pop-up clinics were her introduction to administering a vaccine, which comes with the responsibility of monitoring for signs of allergic reaction post shot.

"I think it was extremely valuable," said Curry, a native of Buford, Georgia. "After working the clinic this semester, I ended up doing my rotations on the pediatric floor at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. We were giving vaccines right before discharges if the parents wanted them. It was cool to already have that experience from the on-campus vaccine clinics so I could feel confident."

Beyond administering the shots at the on-campus clinics, student nurses also practice their bedside manner, easing patient concerns and educating them on the vaccine's benefits.

"If you take the vaccine for the flu and wind up still getting the flu, your symptoms are so much less severe than if you didn't get the vaccine at all," Curry said.

Some patients come in with fears that the vaccine will make them feel unwell, questioning whether the benefit outweighs the cost.

"It might make you feel a little weak or nauseated because it's activating your immune response," said Warren. "But trust me, the actual flu is a lot of worse."

Flu shot clinics were held at different locations across campus, including Wells Hall dormitory. (Photo: Nursing major MaKenzie Curry)

Talk to your epidemiologist

Each year the flu vaccine is developed and mass-produced based on recommendations by the CDC and approval by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

"They develop what they call a trivalent vaccine, meaning they are looking to control three main types of the flu," said Dr. Damian Francis, an epidemiologist, director of Georgia College's Center for Health and Social Issues, and associate professor of public health. "Depending on what is developing most rapidly in the season to come, the vaccine development is guided by what research tells us is going to be the most predominant strain."

Francis warns that the flu can be especially dangerous in older populations, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions.

For those who are vaccine-hesitant, he says there are other measures they can take to keep a severe bout of the flu at bay.

"One could easily improve their chances of not getting the flu virus if they increase vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc and elderberry," Francis said. "If you're taking these, you're going to improve your immune situation and are therefore less likely to fall ill. If you do fall ill from the flu, you're more likely to recover quickly."

Further steps include getting adequate rest, exercising and maintaining a proper diet.

Header Image: Senior nursing major Hannah Pelt administers the flu vaccine to forensic chemistry major Dakota Warren at a pop-up flu shot clinic on campus. (Photo: Dr. Talecia Warren)