USC already requires students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but an email sent on September 28 is adding a new requirement. Students, faculty and staff will need to get the flu vaccine by November 1. So how do students feel about this decision? Wilko Martínez-Cachero has more.
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Appointments for the flu vaccine are flying because of the November 1 deadline. This policy was also in effect last school year.
The reaction within the Trojan community has been mixed. Some believe it’s no big deal, such as senior economics student Matthew Kim.
MATTHEW KIM: You know, USC required vaccines in the past, the flu vaccine and also the cold vaccine, so I feel like people should be used to it by now. It should be pretty standard procedure but I don’t know. Everyone has their own opinions on it, so, I mean, I respect their opinions. But at the same time, like, you know, it’s we’ve been doing it.
Kevin Klusmann, a first-year master’s aerospace and mechanical engineering student, agrees.
KEVIN KLUSMANN: I mean, like, I’ve gotten flu vaccinations before, so I don’t really mind given the current context. I understand where they’re coming from.
Flu season does not start until December for most areas and is unusual before November 1, said Chief Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman.
SARAH VAN ORMAN: You don’t want to get flu shots too early because if you have a late influenza kind of season, and sometimes we’ve seen it as late as March, then you have people that might have waning immunity if they got the vaccine too early.
And with so many things going on in the semester right now, flu season isn’t on everybody’s minds. Just ask Sundiata Toure. He’s a 33-year-old returning international relations student.
SUNDIATA TOURE: If I can remember, like if I’m out on my own or if I go to the doctor and they recommend it, then I’ll get it. But I never like, actively look for it. I probably would have forgot about it, to be honest.
But others, like first-year civil engineering student Jazmin Mendez, are not too used to the flu shot.
JAZMIN MENDEZ: I think last time I got it was like elementary school so I haven’t gotten it in a while. For the most part, I mainly used like, home remedies for my parents and stuff. Tea for the most part, lots of fruits, soup... I’ve never really gotten the shot, so I’m not sure how I’d react to it. But, like overall, I’m pretty OK with it.
And while there hasn’t been much outrage on campus about the flu shot requirement yet, the feedback online has been less kind.
A recent social media post about the requirement saw comments saying that the shot should not be quote-unquote forced on students, that students should fight back, or that Trojans should “stand up against tyranny.”
Olivia Difilippo, a senior PR student, disagrees.
OLIVIA DIFILIPPO: It’s not tyranny if they’re just trying to keep you safe and healthy.
For those on the fence, the flu vaccine will be added to Trojan Check and it will be a requirement for students taking in-person classes and living in USC housing.