Health Center Holds Flu Vaccine Clinics

Ellen Jin / The Exonian

By LUKE CHON, ERIN HAN, WILLIAM INNOUE, AMERSON LIANG, HANNAH REN, and ABBE SARPONG

    Since Sunday, Sept. 29, the health center has been hosting flu vaccine clinics in the dining tent on the McConnell Quad. Running through Sunday, Oct. 6, the clinics have provided Exonians with the convenience of receiving their annual flu shot right here on the Academy’s campus.

    In this week-long period, students have had the opportunity to attend the clinics in groups by dorm or schedule individual vaccine appointments at the health center.

    In the month leading up to the administration of the first vaccines, health center staff were actively coordinating the organization of these clinics. Medical Director Derek Trapasso detailed this process: “Part of what happens is we reach out to families and try and encourage them to have their students vaccinated when they’re here on campus. [That way] we’re able to generate a list of all the students that we’re hoping will choose to get the flu vaccine.”

    He continued, “We take that information that tells us how many vaccines we’re gonna need, and we work with the state of New Hampshire to supply us with vaccines… We [then] divide the campus in half and try to have students come by dorm to the flu vaccine clinics, so we can vaccinate as many people as we can.”

    Trapasso then added that day students and any other students who were not able to make those designated periods have the option to schedule an appointment at the health center at any point to receive their shot. According to Trapasso, “to pull everything together, from identifying the students that are gonna need it, to obtaining the supplies, scheduling staff, and making sure we’ve got a space on campus to be able to do it, the whole process probably takes about a month.”

    Sarah Kelly, who is now in her thirteenth year as the Health Center Manager, added that the sensitive nature of the vaccines heightens the importance of staying organized behind the scenes. “We work with the state to order all our vaccines. The vaccines must be kept at a certain temperature, housed in our vaccine refrigerator, and transported to the clinic site in a very meticulous manner,” she explained. “We monitor the temperature of the vaccine during the clinic, bring more vaccines over from the Health Center when needed, and are sure this is all done to meet the state requirements.”

    Trapasso outlined the goals of the annual clinics. “Each year, we try to make it a point to vaccinate as many students as we can against the flu, and it’s a matter of trying to get as many people vaccinated before flu season starts,” he said. “You want to have people as protected as they can be before influenza really starts to peak, so the timing of the clinics is important. Early fall is probably the best time to do them.”

    “Vaccination helps to prevent illness, but the vaccine has also shown to reduce the severity of illness in people who are vaccinated but still get sick,” said Kelly. “We want the student body to remain as healthy as possible and that is why we recommend getting vaccinated.”

    The health center staff have acknowledged any apprehension that some students may feel toward receiving their shot. “There are always students who are nervous or anxious to have a vaccine. All our staff are very empathetic and compassionate and have the skills to help students who might be nervous to have the vaccine,” said Kelly.

    Trapasso also acknowledged that some students may feel a wave of anxiety once they get to the clinics themselves. “In the moment, if you’re nervous or apprehensive about getting your vaccine, we certainly have ways to support you and make it as comfortable a process as we can.”

    As part of doing so, Trapasso encourages students to reach out to the medical professionals on campus with any questions that they have. “We want to make sure that people understand why we’re giving vaccines, what the benefits are, and what the potential side effects or complications might be,” he said. “And so any student that has questions can always reach out to the health center. We’re happy to answer that information for you.”

    “I think the best way to help people understand why we’re doing this is to put as much information out there as we can,” Trapasso continued. “I’d much rather you talk to us than to sort of go ask the internet what the answer might be.”

    Director of Nursing Colleen Carbone similarly encouraged students to bring her their questions. “The more patients ask questions, we can not only help educate them, but we can also see where there might be some disconnect or we can learn ourselves about how patients are viewing or hearing things.” She elaborated, “I am never gonna push anyone into something that they don’t want to do, but I just wanna make sure that they have all of the tools and knowledge to make an informed decision.”

    Kelly added, “We hope to vaccinate as much of the student body as possible to help prevent illness; we also hope that students can see that the health center staff are here to help them always. We try to make the clinics welcoming and reduce any fears that students may have. Most importantly we always make sure there are treats!”

    All in all, the vaccine clinics this fall stand as just one of the several initiatives that the health center is implementing to ensure the well-being of Exonians on campus. “On behalf of the whole health center, the nurses, and our team, we’re honored to work with you guys,” said Carbone. “You’re an incredible group of students and I know so many of you who are away from your families which can be so hard. Our door is always open 24/7, and if there is anything we can do to support you, we’re gonna listen and we’ll do everything in our power [to help].”