With flu season underway, the 2015 “Flu Blast” campaign kicked off in September and will continue throughout the month of October. The campaign is a joint effort between the Student Health Center, University Medical Center, UA Wellness and the Capstone College of Nursing. Thus far, 230 nursing students have provided around 4,500 flu shots across various locations on campus.

“The Capstone College of Nursing (CCN) partners with the campaign to provide a service-learning opportunity for our students while also facilitating the goal administration of 10,000 free flu vaccines across the campus,” said Dr. Sarah Kaylor, an assistant professor at the Capstone College of Nursing.

The nursing students who are administering the vaccinations are junior-level or above. They are enrolled in the fundamentals of nursing or adult health nursing courses at Capstone College of Nursing.

“CCN students are taught medication administration, including intramuscular injections such as the flu vaccine during their Fundamentals of Nursing clinical course in Semester II of the nursing program,” Kaylor said.

On September 30, nursing students gave out free flu shots to faculty and staff. Kaylor described getting vaccinated against the flu as a community service. It is also a favorite service-learning experience for the nursing students.

“We had a great turn out today giving flu shots on the quad”, said Raquel Marchese, a third semester nursing student. “We had lines of people between their classes wanting their flu shot from a nursing student. It is great to see students and faculty/ staff wanting to be involved in such a great campaign to promote healthy living in the UA community.”

The “Flu Blast” campaign will continue throughout the rest of October. Students can also receive free flu shots at the Student Health Center and the University Medical Clinic.