As flu season approaches, some students said getting sick can make their health, grades and bank accounts suffer.

“Getting sick in college is not a vacation from school,” Aaliyah Meadows, a junior at Marshall University, said. “When you miss class, you fall behind, and even if you have an excused absence, you’ll miss some valuable information taught in class. For however long you were out sick, expect to put in that much time making up missed work. I previously refused to get the flu shot because I was on a streak of not getting sick, and when it finally caught up with me, it came with a vengeance.”

According to the CDC, two waves of flu H1N1, followed by H3N2, activity begin to increase in October and November. The influenza virus spreads on college campuses due to large amounts of people in close proximity to each other. 

“A lot of college students live on their own and have jobs too, so they can’t miss work and school for a week because they got the flu or some other illness that could have possibly been prevented,” Marlee Hutchinson, a first-year student at Marshall, said.

Marshall has come together with the Cabell County Health Department to make it easier to receive the flu shot for students and staff on campus. The Cabell County Health Department offers flu shots on a regular basis.

“People have misconceptions about the flu shot,” said Marie Workman, one of the Cabell County Health Department staff members who has administered flu shot to students on campus. “The viruses administered in the shot are dead, so you cannot get the flu from getting a flu shot. It takes a few weeks for the immune system to kick in, so if a person gets the flu during that time period, they’re likely to blame it on the shot, when they really just caught the flu.”

Workman encouraged students to get the flu shot because it is free. 

“Just get your dang flu shot,” Workman said. “It’s free through Marshall and could save you a lot of misery, time, money and schoolwork in the future.” 

Although the flu shot is not 100% effective, it is still the best way to prevent the flu, according to the CDC. Other preventative measures to help students from getting sick include washing hands, covering the mouth when sneezing, staying home when sick and getting the proper immunizations.

Sarah Rowe can be contacted at [email protected].