Flu season is approaching, and those interested in attempting to avoid the flu can get a flu shot on Tuesday from 2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the FISD vaccination clinic being held on campus.

“I think students should get them and as long as they’re healthy enough to get one,”  school nurse Emily Mikeska said. “In some cases you shouldn’t get it like if you’re allergic to eggs or something like that, but I just think an extra added protection, especially when we’re in an environment that has so many people in it and we’re just in close contact with each other and just for those particular reasons.They are not free, but it is a shot that’s covered by most insurances so if you have insurance you can come in and get a shot and you don’t have to pay anything for it, they’ll fill the insurance.”

With the flu vaccine offering protection against the flu, many students on campus take that as advice and get a yearly vaccine.

“Last time I got the flu was like in third or fourth grade and I believe I didn’t get the flu shot,” junior Tyler Hogg said. “I get a flu shot each year because my parents told me I have to or my doctor tells me I have to.”

With approximately 5-20 percent of U.S. residents getting the flu and more than 200,000 people hospitalized for flu-related complications, a flu shot can help contain the virus.

“When you get the flu shot, you are preventing that virus to be spread easily like that,” English teacher Denise Synatschk said. “So you are actually helping yourself and others around you.”

With flu season starting as early as October and as late as May, more people are noticing the flu as a trend.
“We always saw it spike during the holiday season when people were traveling a lot and things like that,” Mikeska said. “Now it’s gotten to almost where it’s kind of like year round you could potentially get it.”