KNOXVILLE — Flu shots will be available to University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students, faculty and staff from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the University Center Ballroom.
Shots will cost $20 — $5 less than last year — and all proceeds will go to the Knoxville News Sentinel Empty Stocking Fund, which provides food and toys to needy families during the winter holidays. Sponsors include the UT Student Health Service, the UT College of Nursing, the Knoxville News Sentinel Charities and Dr. Charlie Barnett.
“This year our campus community will be facing both H1N1 and the seasonal flu,” said Student Health Service administrator Jim Boyle. “Therefore, it is especially important to get vaccinated for both. We’re encouraging all students, faculty and staff to get the seasonal flu shot now, as well as the H1N1 shot when it becomes available later in the fall.”
College campuses are particularly susceptible to both viruses because of large numbers of people in close proximity in classrooms and residence halls. The UT Knoxville campus already has seen many cases of H1N1.
Symptoms of seasonal flu include high fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat and a runny or stuffy nose.
Symptoms of H1N1 are similar; they include fever, cough, sore throat and body aches. In most people, the illness tends to be relatively mild, and they do not need to seek medical care. UT Student Health Service has asked students not to come to the clinic unless they are pregnant, have a chronic illness or suffer complications, such as difficulty breathing, fever that does not come down with medicine, or the inability to keep liquids down.
To minimize the risk of contracting or transmitting colds, seasonal flu and H1N1:
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water, especially after you cough or sneeze. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand gel.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. If a tissue is not available, cough into your shirt sleeve.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
- Wash your hands before eating.
- Do not share your food or drink with others.
- Avoid close contact with sick people.
- Stay home if you are sick and restrict contact with others until you’ve been symptom-free for 24 hours. A mild, lingering cough may occur and, barring any other flu symptoms, this shouldn’t prevent resumption of normal activities.
For more information about influenza-like illnesses, contact UT Student Health Service at (865) 974-3135 or visit http://studenthealth.utk.edu.
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C O N T A C T :
Rebekah Winkler, (865-974-8304, rwinkler@utk.edu)