Health Services to hold two flu clinics for students

Tufts Health Service will provide free flu vaccinations for students on the Medford/Somerville campus in two sessions this season.

According to Kathleen O'Dea, the clinic manager of Health Services, the flu clinic sessions will be held on Oct. 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Oct. 15 from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. These sessions will be open to students that have paid the health fee.

"Flu shots are free, and a great preventative measure," O'Dea wrote in an email to the Tufts community.

O'Dea added that students should wear a short-sleeved shirt to Health Services and bring their student I.D.

"The flu is not a mild illness or a cold," she said. "The illness comes with fever, chills, body aches and could mean missing class for several days. Getting a flu shot just makes good sense."

According to former Health Service Medical Director Margaret Higham, there are generally minor side effects from the vaccinations, including a sore arm. She previously told the Daily that students should get the vaccine, since the flu spreads easily in a college community.

“It is recommended that everyone six months of age or older get the flu vaccine once a year in the U.S.,” Higham said in an Oct. 5, 2011 Daily article.