Editorial: Your mom was right: Get the flu shot to fight disease

This season might have germaphobes sanitizing all communal surfaces and running from class in a panic when surrounded by coughing and visibly ill peers. The flu season is back with a vengeance, with many comparing it to 2009’s outbreak of H1N1, or the swine flu.

Even people who don’t experience symptoms of the flu can spread it to others, which makes both vaccination and good hygiene paramount. A recent article from Slate said that 20 percent of the population circulates 80 percent of diseases, making some people “super-spreaders” — those who contaminate high numbers of people.

As college students, we’re probably all at a higher risk for getting the flu or for contaminating large amounts of other people. College is an intensely social environment, and between class, work, dorms, apartments, cafes, bars and parties, the number of people (and germy doorknobs) that college students interact with is often much higher than the average person.

Probably unsurprisingly, the 18-24 age range has some of the lowest rates of flu vaccination — only 10 percent of this population generally gets the vaccine. That means that most colleges are hotbeds of disease, and most students aren’t sufficiently protected against them. Not getting a vaccine might not matter to people who are generally healthy, but it could affect others — even people who show no symptoms of the flu could be carriers and could pass it to others. Don’t be like Typhoid Mary, a cook who was a chronic, asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever and unknowingly gave it to almost every family she ever worked for. Although most people in college student demographic can easily recover from the flu, the Center for Disease Control still recommends that everyone be vaccinated, because it lessens the chance that the flu will spread throughout the population to people who could be very negatively affected — like children or the elderly.

Many people opt out of a flu shot because of concerns that vaccines help to create super-viruses; however, no good evidence suggests that this is the case. The mainstream medical community recommends vaccination to prevent the spread of the flu.

In order to prevent this spread, everyone needs to maintain high standards of hygiene and be considerate of others. The basics of preventing the spread of disease apply: Cough and sneeze into your elbow and away from others and wash your hands frequently. Wipe off computer lab desks and keyboards with antibacterial wipes and use hand sanitizer. If you think you have the flu, don’t go to class or work — stay at home and make your friends bring you your favorite foods and DVDs. If you get really sick, see a doctor. It’s free for Pitt students to go to Student Health Services, and they have walk-in hours on Saturdays. Professors must also be understanding of students’ flu-related absences.

Students can get flu shots at Pitt’s Student Health Services or at most local pharmacies (including Rite Aid and CVS). It usually doesn’t take more than 10 or 15 minutes to get a vaccine. Although it’s most effective to get flu shots in mid-fall, most locations are still giving vaccinations, and public health officials are encouraging those who have not been vaccinated to get a flu shot.

This flu season, help everyone at Pitt by prioritizing good health.