{"639186":{"#nid":"639186","#data":{"type":"news","title":"To Hell With the Flu: Clinics Begin Next Week","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAll students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to get their flu shot this year, more than ever before. The first on-campus flu shot clinics will be held \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.calendar.gatech.edu\/event\/639135\u0022\u003Eat McCamish Pavilion Sept. 21 \u0026ndash; 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.\u003C\/a\u003E, with more to come later this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u0026rsquo;s clinics will have a greater capacity than in years past. Last year, each clinic, held at Stamps Health Services, administered 200-300 shots daily; this year they are aiming for as many as 1,200 shots per day.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStudents who want to get a flu shot do not need to make an appointment beforehand and can simply walk up to McCamish during the clinic\u0026rsquo;s hours of operation. Temperature and symptom checks will be administered at the door. In accordance with the University System of Georgia\u0026rsquo;s (USG) guidelines, masks will be required inside McCamish.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFlu shots are also available to faculty and staff and will be free for those enrolled in a USG healthcare plan. Employees are required to pre-register at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/flu\u0022\u003Ehealth.gatech.edu\/flu\u003C\/a\u003E, and those enrolled in a Kaiser plan will only be able to receive shots on Sept. 22. Shots administered to faculty and staff members will be capped at 150 per day.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;While it is always important to get a flu shot, this year is particularly important,\u0026rdquo; said Dr. Benjamin Holton, senior director at Stamps Health Services. \u0026ldquo;The symptoms of flu and the symptoms of Covid-19 are very similar, and the two illnesses cannot be distinguished based on clinical criteria alone.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis similarity in symptoms could cause a strain on Tech\u0026rsquo;s medical resources, including testing, isolation capacity, and overall medical care. Holton noted that those who have both the flu and Covid-19 tend to be sicker than those who have one or the other.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A flu outbreak increases the risk that students and staff will attribute symptoms of illness to the flu instead of Covid-19 and choose to attend class or go to work with symptoms, increasing risk of exposure of others to Covid-19 and increasing its spread,\u0026rdquo; Holton said.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nLearn more about flu symptoms and how to get your flu shot \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/additional\/flu\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMore clinic dates will be scheduled later in the semester. For those who can\u0026rsquo;t attend or wish to make an appointment, call Stamps Health Services Pharmacy at\u0026nbsp; 404.894.1430, extension 5. For those insured through a USG plan, flu shots will be free of charge. For those not insured by a USG plan, additional charges may apply.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch5\u003ESpecifics for employees:\u003C\/h5\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you are insured with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EFlu shots are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion on Sept. 21 and 22.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EFlu shots will be limited to 150 per day.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EFaculty and staff must pre-register. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cvs.com\/vaccine\/intake\/clinic\/vaccine-select?clinicID=E02F183DE6A912F2389A56811D408E06\u0022\u003ESign up for Sept. 21 here\u003C\/a\u003E, and for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cvs.com\/vaccine\/intake\/clinic\/vaccine-select?clinicID=9D85C29802EBF35BFE4DA75A23DBEBD9\u0022\u003ESept. 22 here\u003C\/a\u003E. Click here\u0026nbsp;to sign up if you are insured with Anthem.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you are insured with Kaiser Permanente:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EFlu shots are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion on Sept. 22 only.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EFaculty and staff must pre-register.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online_scheduler_user_instructions_-_usg_9.22.2020.pdf\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online_scheduler_user_instructions_-_usg_9.22.2020.pdf\u0022\u003EClick here\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to sign up if you are insured with Kaiser.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAll students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to get their flu shot this year, more than ever before. The first on-campus flu shot clinics will be held at McCamish Pavilion Sept. 21 \u0026ndash; 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with more to come later this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to get their flu shot this year, more than ever before. The first on-campus flu shot clinics will be held at McCamish Pavilion Sept. 21 \u2013 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with more to come later this fall."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2020-09-17 01:21:28","changed_gmt":"2020-09-17 17:04:41","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-09-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-09-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"639187":{"id":"639187","type":"image","title":"To Hell With the Flu","body":null,"created":"1600306000","gmt_created":"2020-09-17 01:26:40","changed":"1600306000","gmt_changed":"2020-09-17 01:26:40","alt":"To Hell With the Flu","file":{"fid":"243034","name":"Facebook_Flu2020.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Facebook_Flu2020.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Facebook_Flu2020.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1086956,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Facebook_Flu2020.png?itok=3k-9-9Ua"}}},"media_ids":["639187"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.calendar.gatech.edu\/event\/639135","title":"Flu Shot Clinics Sept. 21-22"},{"url":"http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/additional\/flu","title":"Flu Information From Stamps Health Services"},{"url":"https:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/health-information","title":"Covid-19 Information"}],"groups":[{"id":"499601","name":"Campus Services"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"398","name":"health"},{"id":"296","name":"Flu"},{"id":"123761","name":"well-being"},{"id":"167128","name":"Stamps Health Services"},{"id":"8189","name":"flu shots"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:morgan.miller@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMorgan Miller\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECampus Services\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}