DrugStoreNews.com reported that in 2017, in an average year, fewer than half of college students typically receive a flu shot. Now, colleges across the U.S. are beginning to require on-campus students to receive a flu shot or face disciplinary action, like being locked out of their school email account.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the University of North Carolina at Charlotte said all students and faculty must receive the flu shot or come up with a medical, religious, or personal exemption.
As we have reported in the Trends Journal, Massachusetts has required all students to receive a flu shot by 31 December or they will not be able to attend class in January.
Lawrence Gostin, Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law, told Politico, “This is a brave new experiment by the state of Massachusetts.”
Politico reported that besides colleges, states are also embracing these universal flu-shot initiatives because they want to avoid a “Twindemic.” The theory is that the health care system cannot handle the strain of a flu outbreak and COVID at the same time. They also worry about how individuals would respond if they came down with both viruses at the same time.
“If it turns out to be a wholesale success, that should influence other states to go a similar route, not just with flu but with other vaccines. But if it causes a backlash and only marginal benefit, states might be hesitant to adopt that model in the future,” he said.
