On Wednesday, Oct. 8, Carleton’s Student Health and Counseling (SHAC) kicked off its annual Influenza and Covid-19 Vaccination Clinics in the Great Hall of Severance Hall. Partnering with Homeland Health Specialists since 2020, SHAC’s annual clinic is open to Carleton’s students, faculty and staff. The clinic is open until Wednesday, Oct. 21, with operating hours available on SHAC’s website and on campus announcements promoting the event.
Homeland Health is a Minneapolis-based healthcare provider that operates vaccination clinics for colleges (such as Carleton and St. Olaf), K-12 schools, businesses and communities throughout Minnesota.
“We have been coming here since COVID,” said Nancy Simon, a registered nurse with Homeland Health. “We started the first year of Covid, and we did all the testing and then started giving COVID shots and flu shots.”
Over the five-year period of the clinic’s operation on Carleton’s campus, hundreds of students have used its services daily.
“Usually around 400 or so a day,” said Simon. “[Turnout has] pretty much stayed the same. We get a lot of staff, a lot of students.”
To register, Homeland Health requires information about an individual’s medical history, medications, past vaccines and insurance. Once this information has been given and an appointment is booked, this stage of the process is complete.
“I just followed the QR code, I followed all the steps [to register],” said Meghan Howard ’29. “I was in the elevator picking up my laundry and I was like, oh, there’s the vaccine poster.”
Other Carls also expressed the ease of digital registration.
“I think [the process] was pretty fast and easy,” said Kaitlyn Chen ’26, a Biology major. “We just get checked in online. So you’re able to just go through right away and I think it only took me 10 minutes. And [the process is] not too painful. I just think it’s a good resource. And I didn’t really know about it until this year, but I think it’s very accessible.”
Despite the reported ease of getting the flu and Covid ‘jabs’ at Carleton, changes in federal vaccine policy are shaking up flu season, especially due to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s skepticism of vaccine efficacy and his expressed opposition to vaccine mandates.
Under Kennedy and other vaccine skeptics, the Food and Drug Administration has narrowed vaccine eligibility. Under new guidelines, anyone below the age of 65 is no longer eligible for Covid vaccines unless they have at least one medical condition putting them at a severe risk of disease.
“I wasn’t sure how that [number of people at the clinic] would be this year because of everything that has been happening and a month ago, we really didn’t even know about Covid. If we would be able to give it, who would get it,” said Simon, reflecting on federal policy changes.
“I felt like it’s a big stick it in your face to them that I scheduled for myself to go get my shots,” said Howard when asked about federal policy changes. “I felt really empowered in terms of my health.”
Howard also reflected on how, as a college freshman, she was given greater independence in her health decisions.
“This was my first time scheduling an entire appointment, getting the insurance figured out…I don’t enjoy getting shots, but I felt like a responsible adult.”
SHAC’s vaccine clinic will run until Oct. 22. Hours and more information can be found on their website.
“We are thanking everybody, the nurses, our staff, for coming and getting flu and COVID coverage. I think it’s really important for our country to have people vaccinated,” said Simon.