A flu shot will be required for “all members of the UC community,” University of California officials announced Friday.
The executive order says staff, faculty and students will need to have received a shot before Nov. 1, as first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
It’s a preventative measure meant to ease the overlap of coronavirus with the flu season, which could cause added stress to the health care system.
The UC statement said: “The executive order is an important proactive measure to help protect members of the UC community — and the public at large — and to ameliorate the severe burdens on health care systems anticipated during the coming fall and winter from influenza and COVID-19 illnesses.”
According to the release, there will be a process for faculty and staff to request medical exemptions.
A doctor at UC Davis has also expressed the importance of limiting the community spread of COVID-19 before flu season begins.
“And if we have coronavirus season overlapping with influenza season, where people are indoors and we know there will be more transmission. That’s a recipe for disaster,” said Dr. Dean Blumberg in a previous interview.
The UC system says it already has a policy on immunizations for students and that this order will include flu shots into that policy.
