In fact, many of them not only hear those sounds, they emit them as well.
Influenza, most commonly known as the flu, is usually the cause of these annoying sounds. It is a highly contagious virus that on a college campus can pass from person to person very easily.
To protect the Cerritos College community from the virus, the Student Health Center will be giving flu shots over the course of the next two months.
Flu season goes from November through April, and starting Wednesday, and continuing through Dec. 14, students, staff, and faculty will be able to go to the Student Health Center where they can receive the shot.
The Health Center will also be giving shots at the Social Sciences Patio, Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Thursday on the Student Center Stage from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The cost to students is $5, and the cost to faculty and staff is $10.
Most people know the flu as that inconvenient virus that attacks the body and causes fever, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle ache, headache and fatigue. It usually disrupts their lives for one to two weeks.
What most Americans do not know is that on average, 100,000 people are hospitalized every year due to complications caused by influenza, and 20,000 die, according to the Centers for disease Control and Prevention.
Because of the contagious nature of influenza, on occasion, it has reached epidemic proportions.
o In 1918-19 the “Spanish flu” caused approximately 500,000 deaths in the United States, and caused 20 million worldwide.
o In 1957-58 the “Asian flu” caused 70,000 deaths in the United States.
o In 1968-69 the “Hong-Kong flu” was responsible for 34,000 deaths in the United States.
In modern medicine’s quest to find a cure for influenza, researchers have developed the preventative shot, and they feel that getting it once every year is the most likely way to reduce the risk of getting the virus.
Dolores Miranda, who has been a nurse for over 30 years says she sees the impact the flu shots have made. She says the only bad thing about it is that it only lasts one year, where as some other vaccines can last up to five years.
According to Charles Gale, Health Center Director, the shots are 90 percent effective. “If you get the flu, however, it will minimize the symptoms,” he said.
