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MSU pushes vaccines in competition against other universities

September 24, 2014

Adding another facet to the rivalry, MSU is now being urged to battle the University of Michigan in another way — by getting vaccinated.

As part of a statewide effort to get college students vaccinated against the flu, MSU has joined the ranks of 13 Michigan colleges competing in the “Flu Battle,” otherwise known as the College and University Flu Vaccination Challenge, which pits universities of similar size against one another to see which one can get the most students vaccinated this flu season.

Students who self-report their vaccinations online will be counted when MSU faces off against U-M when the results are announced by the Michigan Department of Community Health, who is sponsoring the battle, during the first week of December.

Michigan Department of Community Health Spokeswoman Jennifer Smith said only about 10 percent of people aged 18-25 get vaccinated, a percentage she is hoping will jump.

“College students have a unique and increased risk of catching serious illnesses because of the close contact, but education is really the most important step to raising awareness and getting students vaccinated,” Smith said.

While officials push the vaccine, other students doubt its effectiveness and affordability.

“I’m not usually a person who gets seriously sick,” history senior Liza Levko said. “I’ve never gotten the vaccine except for when I was younger.”

Levko also said students could go off campus and get the vaccination for less than offered by MSU.

Students can get the vaccine shot for $25 or the mist for $37 if they pay on the spot at a neighborhood clinic. If the vaccine is billed to their insurance provider, the cost will be higher, at $56 for a shot and $60 for the mist. Braunlich said Olin Health Center is set to receive the shipment of vaccines sometime in October.

Marketing and Communications Manager for Student Health Services Kathi Braunlich said this is the first time MSU has participated in a challenge like this, but given the strikingly low college student vaccination statistics, she welcomes the “battle,” which she hopes will encourage students to get vaccinated.

“When you truly get the flu, you can be out of school for three days,” Braunlich said. “That can be huge if that happens in the middle of mid-terms.”

Being in such close quarters in campus residence halls, it can be easy to give the flu to other students, she said.

Additionally, students who have close contact with children less than 6 months of age run the risk of transferring the flu to them.

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