As cases of measles rise around the United States and the annual cases of the flu rise here on campus, medical professionals at the University of Rhode Island’s Health Services urge students to get their vaccines.
URI offers several important vaccines like COVID-19, flu, HPV, hepatitis A and B, Menactra, meningitis A and B, measles, mumps, rubella, pneumonia and polio. Christopher Nasin, Medical Director of Health Services, is a strong supporter of vaccinations.
“Vaccines are the best way to prevent illness from flu and COVID-19,” Dr. Nasin said.
Jessica Greene, the assistant director of Health Promotion and Wellness at URI’s Health Services, confirms that we are already seeing cases of the flu. Greene believes that cases of the flu rise every fall due to the adjustment to being in close quarters.
“If they are having a fever, we ask them to stay in their room for 24 hours until they are fever free, and also wear a mask,” Greene said. “We do have delivery services to deliver cups of soup and things to help them out with that.”
Health Services have countless opportunities to stop the spread of the flu. If students are unable to get better while in their dorm, health services can also triage them to their hospital rooms.
However, Greene overall advises students that vaccinations are the best way to prevent needing any external medical help. Vulnerable people are much more likely to need medical help from sicknesses like the flu and COVID-19, as they serve as gateways to worse problems.
“You are not thinking about yourself and how to keep yourself healthy and safe,” Greene said. “It is really those vulnerable populations that we are more worried about.”
20,000 children are hospitalized every year because of the flu and about 36,000 people die every year because of the flu, according to the CDC.
“When viruses hit, they will not spread as much as they would in an unvaccinated population,” Nasin said.
“Everyone thinks, ‘well, I’m not going to get vaccinated because everyone else is going to,’” Greene said. “Then your rates are going to start dropping.”
Greene compares that scenario to the bystander effect. The bystander effect occurs when someone see a problem or issue and decides not to intervene because someone believes everyone else will. This could cause little to no one to help, and the situation to worsen.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Benjamin Franklin once said. Dr. Nasin recited this quote, saying that it encompasses the extreme importance of getting vaccinated.
Interested in getting the flu or COVID-19 vaccine? Clinics are held in the Memorial Union ballroom on select dates throughout the fall and winter. Scan the QR-code attached to pre-register or just walk in on a day that works for you.
