With the flu season approaching, it’s important for Memphians to get their vaccinations, which significantly reduces chances of contracting the respiratory illness.
In light of this, students at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will be providing free flu vaccinations to the city’s low-income and homeless this Thursday. The students are a part of the Operation Immunization Committee of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists chapter at UTHSC.
Last year, the chapter was awarded a $3,000 grant to vaccinate Memphis’ low-income population. And the group will use the grant to provide flu vaccinations to 150 impoverished locals. All people have to do to receive the vaccinations is attend Idlewild Presbyterian Church’s “More Than a Meal” gathering.
The event, which will take place Thursday, October 23rd from 5:30 to 7 p.m., will give the city’s homeless and low-income a chance to enjoy a free meal and fellowship with church members. During the dinner, UTHSC College of Pharmacy students who are certified to give immunizations will administer vaccinations.
Over a period of 31 seasons between 1976 and 2007, estimated flu-associated deaths in the United States ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During a regular flu season, about 90 percent of deaths occur in people 65 years and older.