https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2020/08/2020-21-flu-vaccination-executive-order.pdf
Anybody know if this applies to students who are sheltering at home? Going out to get a flu shot would mean risking exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
Did you read the Executive Order?
@brantly Yes, I read that. It makes is sound as if those who stay home might be exempt. But in other parts it seems to be saying all students must get a flu shot. I am hoping they will clear this up when they come out with more info in a couple of weeks.
What’s the difference? Why not just get a flu shot? Influenza will exponentially complicate COVID, if you should happen to get that too, and COVID mitigation in the community. The more people who get the influenza vaccine, the less influenza will be circulating in the community.
@BunnyBlue My doctor mentioned to me that his office will be creating a drive through flu shot clinic. I think they are planning ahead to make this very safe and effective.
Also there are services that will give patients flu shots in their homes, but not sure if that exists in all geographies.
I think that this policy makes a lot of sense.
There is no COVID-19 vaccine that is publicly available, at least not yet. Getting both COVID and the flu at the same time seems like a very, very bad idea. At least we can protect ourselves against the flu. It seems like a good idea to do so.
I understand that a few people cannot be immunized for some medical reasons. The rest of us should do so and thereby do our best to both not get the flu ourselves, and not pass it on to anyone else.
I am getting the flu shot this year the week that it is available.
Hopefully the social distancing that we are doing to avoid COVID will also make it less likely that we will get the flu.
Social distancing measures earlier in the year apparently did end the previous flu season early: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01538-8
But since it is unlikely that people will practice social distancing to the level they did in March to early April, it is still a good idea to get the flu vaccine (unless medically unable*) to reduce the risk of getting the flu.
*Note that people with egg allergy used to be unable to get a flu vaccine, but now there are flu vaccines made without eggs (one uses dog cells and another uses insect cells).