Flu shots will no longer be available on the UW-Superior campus during flu season.

According to Dawn Schulze, coordinator of Student Health and Counseling at UWS, the declining use of the flu shot clinic has pushed the Douglas County Public Health Service to discontinue clinics on the UWS campus. Besides the lack of student use, the lack of funding forced the county to make cuts in their flu shot programming.

Everyone over six months old is encouraged to get a flu shot each fall. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “the seasonal flu vaccine protects against the three influenza viruses that research suggests will be most common [in a given year].” The flu can spread in several ways, but mainly spreads when a person who is infected coughs or sneezes near others. The CDC’s website explained that symptoms of flu include fever, fatigue, head and body aches and a sore throat.

There are still ways for UWS students to get flu shots, however. “Douglas County will provide the flu shot to children between the ages of six months and 18 years for free, as part of the State of Wisconsin’s Vaccine for Children Program,” Schulze wrote in an email. “The price of the flu shot for adults is $25.00. The [Douglas County] Public Health Service is only able to bill Medicare and Medicaid. People on Medicaid HMOs should see their preferred provider (Medical Clinic).”

For information about getting a flu shot, UWS students can call the Douglas County Flu hotline at 715-395-7358.