With the start of the fall season, many people are looking forward to the leaves changing color and the cool, crisp weather, but flu season follows closely behind. To lessen the stress of flu season, the Grand Valley State University Family Health Center is holding flu shot clinics on campus. 

These clinics will be open to students, faculty, staff and dependents, as well as retirees and members of the community.  

“People say, ‘I don’t get sick,’ or ‘I never get the flu, so I’m not going to worry about it,’ or whatever the reason is,” said Tricia Thomas, assistant dean for practice in the Kirkhof College of Nursing. “It’s always important to get a flu shot so that we have a lower occurrence rate of the flu in our area, not because we’re college students or college professors, but because it can bring great harm to those with chronic conditions, children and elders.” 

Some people may not want to get a flu shot because it could make them get sick, but Anne Markaity, nursing case manager for GVSU’s Family Health Center, said that is not a reason to not get the shot.

“The reality is, if the flu shot is working, it stimulates the immune system to fight to create antibodies, so it does make you, and a lot of people, feel kind of lousy for about 24 hours,” Markaity said. “Maybe a fever, pain on the site, chills, and what that is, is it isn’t making you sick, it’s making your immune system work. That is what you’re feeling. The flu shot, in and of itself, is not a live vaccine; it cannot make you sick.”

The flu shots at these clinics will cost $40, which can be paid using your student account or with cash, credit or debit. There is also the option to have it billed to your insurance. Only children under three years need an appointment to get the shot.

The flu shot clinics will begin Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 4 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center and at 5 p.m. in the GVSU Family Health Center downtown. All you need to bring is a photo ID and proof of insurance if you plan on billing your insurance directly. If you plan on having the flu shot billed to your student account, you need to have your student ID. 

These clinics will continue through Thursday, Oct. 26, and will be held at varying times and locations, both on and off campus. For a full list of the flu shot clinic schedule, you can visit the Family Health Center’s website at www.gvsu.edu/fhc. 

If you can’t make it to any of the dates or times for the flu shot clinics during October, the Family Health Center has walk-in appointments available for flu shots from October to January.