The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/influenza/)
Each fall, Cornell partners with Wegmans Pharmacy to offer free flu vaccinations to students at various campus locations from September to November. With the ongoing pandemic impacting Cornellians’ daily lives, getting the flu vaccine this year is just as critical as in any other year for all individuals, according to Cornell physicians.
Whittaker concluded that although there has been significant backlash recently regarding vaccines, vaccines are extremely important for public health and medicine.
Across the country, the last few weeks have brought with them the rise of influenza in homes, schools, communities, health centers and hospitals. As the spring semester begins, I’ve engaged with students, faculty and staff about preparing and responding to the flu season at Cornell. Many have asked: How bad is this year’s flu season likely to be? How does Cornell Health prepare? Are we as a community safe?
Physicians have already diagnosed three times as many students with influenza-related illness as the same time in 2017 and five times as many as in 2016.
In the midst of the most intense flu season since 2009, it remains vitally important that all members of the Cornell community remember to get vaccinated. The failure of both Cornell Health and the Tompkins County Health Department to prepare adequately for this season’s demand is disappointing, but Cornellians and Ithacans alike should not let this inconvenience prevent them seeking out the vaccine where it is still in supply. Universities like Cornell are prime breeding grounds for communicable diseases like flu. The close quarters of dormitories, lectures, dining halls and dance floors bring us into contact with hundreds of people every day, each of them potential flu-carriers. Vaccination is the healthy and the smart choice.