• Home
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • News Tips/Press Releases
  • Advertising
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Times-Delphic
  • News
    • All
    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • Crime Log
    • In Des Moines
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • The Ones
    • Top News
    Des Moines Police identify victim in Saturday night Dogtown shooting

    Des Moines Police identify victim in Saturday night Dogtown shooting

    One dead, one injured in Dogtown shooting Saturday night

    One dead, one injured in Dogtown shooting Saturday night

    Former U.S. diplomat draws attention to the Tigray War in Ethiopia during lecture

    Former U.S. diplomat draws attention to the Tigray War in Ethiopia during lecture

    Iranians pushed over the edge after years of repression and corruption

    Iranians pushed over the edge after years of repression and corruption

    Drake proposes wellness fee costs, plans to expand mental health services

    Drake proposes wellness fee costs, plans to expand mental health services

    • Administrative News
    • The Ones
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Crime Log
    • In Des Moines
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Features
    • All
    • Clubs
    • Greek Life
    • People
    Letter Signed by Charles Dickens Discovered in Drake Archives 

    Letter Signed by Charles Dickens Discovered in Drake Archives 

    Students share how they spent their Thanksgiving Break

    Students share how they spent their Thanksgiving Break

    Sigma Phi Epsilon plans annual “Miracle on 34th Street” event

    Sigma Phi Epsilon plans annual “Miracle on 34th Street” event

    A boring Black Friday: How Black Friday has changed over the years

    A boring Black Friday: How Black Friday has changed over the years

    Drake Theatre People presents “Rabbit Hole”

    Drake Theatre People presents “Rabbit Hole”

    • Clubs
    • People
    • Greek Life
  • Commentary
    • All
    • Black Voices Column
    • Horoscope
    • Humans of Drake
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Opinion
    “Ticket to Paradise” is your ticket to watching gorgeous people

    “Ticket to Paradise” is your ticket to watching gorgeous people

    2020 redux: can’t come to the classroom? Still need Zoom

    2020 redux: can’t come to the classroom? Still need Zoom

    Blues, booze and nothing to do: how to bloom during holiday gloom

    Blues, booze and nothing to do: how to bloom during holiday gloom

    Ho, ho, hope you don’t get coal: gift ideas for X-Mas

    Ho, ho, hope you don’t get coal: gift ideas for X-Mas

    Make Election Day a holiday (we’ll vote on it)

    Make Election Day a holiday (we’ll vote on it)

    • Opinion
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Football
  • Relays Edition

    Bill that would make Iowa a hands-free driving state stalls in the legislature

    New Casey’s Location on Forest Avenue

    ADA student task force advocates for disability inclusion

    Des Moines lands news USL team and stadium district

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    Hip astrology: Relays horoscope

    State of Sustainability at Drake

    Dean Kathleen Richardson: Leaving a Legacy for the Drake SJMC

    Painted Street ain’t so sweet when costs are heaped

    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Video
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
  • Podcasts
    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Humans of Drake Podcast

    Bulldog Blitz 1: December 7, 2010

    The Sports Report 2010 7: 11/09/2010

  • News
    • All
    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • Crime Log
    • In Des Moines
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • The Ones
    • Top News
    Des Moines Police identify victim in Saturday night Dogtown shooting

    Des Moines Police identify victim in Saturday night Dogtown shooting

    One dead, one injured in Dogtown shooting Saturday night

    One dead, one injured in Dogtown shooting Saturday night

    Former U.S. diplomat draws attention to the Tigray War in Ethiopia during lecture

    Former U.S. diplomat draws attention to the Tigray War in Ethiopia during lecture

    Iranians pushed over the edge after years of repression and corruption

    Iranians pushed over the edge after years of repression and corruption

    Drake proposes wellness fee costs, plans to expand mental health services

    Drake proposes wellness fee costs, plans to expand mental health services

    • Administrative News
    • The Ones
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Crime Log
    • In Des Moines
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Features
    • All
    • Clubs
    • Greek Life
    • People
    Letter Signed by Charles Dickens Discovered in Drake Archives 

    Letter Signed by Charles Dickens Discovered in Drake Archives 

    Students share how they spent their Thanksgiving Break

    Students share how they spent their Thanksgiving Break

    Sigma Phi Epsilon plans annual “Miracle on 34th Street” event

    Sigma Phi Epsilon plans annual “Miracle on 34th Street” event

    A boring Black Friday: How Black Friday has changed over the years

    A boring Black Friday: How Black Friday has changed over the years

    Drake Theatre People presents “Rabbit Hole”

    Drake Theatre People presents “Rabbit Hole”

    • Clubs
    • People
    • Greek Life
  • Commentary
    • All
    • Black Voices Column
    • Horoscope
    • Humans of Drake
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Opinion
    “Ticket to Paradise” is your ticket to watching gorgeous people

    “Ticket to Paradise” is your ticket to watching gorgeous people

    2020 redux: can’t come to the classroom? Still need Zoom

    2020 redux: can’t come to the classroom? Still need Zoom

    Blues, booze and nothing to do: how to bloom during holiday gloom

    Blues, booze and nothing to do: how to bloom during holiday gloom

    Ho, ho, hope you don’t get coal: gift ideas for X-Mas

    Ho, ho, hope you don’t get coal: gift ideas for X-Mas

    Make Election Day a holiday (we’ll vote on it)

    Make Election Day a holiday (we’ll vote on it)

    • Opinion
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Football
  • Relays Edition

    Bill that would make Iowa a hands-free driving state stalls in the legislature

    New Casey’s Location on Forest Avenue

    ADA student task force advocates for disability inclusion

    Des Moines lands news USL team and stadium district

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    Hip astrology: Relays horoscope

    State of Sustainability at Drake

    Dean Kathleen Richardson: Leaving a Legacy for the Drake SJMC

    Painted Street ain’t so sweet when costs are heaped

    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Video
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
  • Podcasts
    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Humans of Drake Podcast

    Bulldog Blitz 1: December 7, 2010

    The Sports Report 2010 7: 11/09/2010

No Result
View All Result
The Times-Delphic
No Result
View All Result
Home Commentary Opinion

Free vaccinations would encourage wellness

byTIM WEBBER
February 8, 2015
in Opinion
1
0
SHARES
32
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

STORY BY TIM WEBBER

Tim Webber can be reached at timothy.webber@drake.edu and @HelloTimWebber
Tim Webber can be reached at timothy.webber@drake.edu and @HelloTimWebber

If you left Des Moines for your winter break, congratulations, you avoided what WebMD described as one of the “sickest” areas of the country.

WebMD combed through its search statistics to determine where in the country the flu had the biggest impact. The region containing Des Moines and Ames came in third.

But instead of a bronze medal, Des Moines has been rewarded with lots of coughing, fever and headaches.

While I haven’t ventured far off campus yet this semester, I can only assume that the rest of Des Moines is an apocalyptic, “Walking Dead”-style wasteland.

“Ha, that’s pretty funny,” you probably thought, which is exactly the problem.

None of us take the flu seriously, even though it kills half a million people each year. And that’s fair enough, because in an industrialized nation like the United States, most of those deaths are people over 65 or young children.

There’s not much for a college student to worry about. So, why get a flu shot?

For a brief moment, let’s change the situation.

Imagine that every time you go outside, there exists the threat of a flying lion that could swoop down and eat you. You’d probably be terrified and do everything you could to avoid an untimely death.

Now imagine that it’s 20 years later, and you have not yet experienced death by flying lion. Even though the lions eat hundreds of thousands of people a year, they mostly prey on the weak.

Because the flying lions are now an ever-present threat, they’ve become a part of life and you’ve mostly forgotten about them. Kind of like the flu.

Sure, every once in a while, the metaphorical flying lion will make an appearance, but it typically only results in a few terrible days of illness- nothing life-threatening.

However, if we let our guard down, there’s always a chance the flu could swoop back in and cause thousands more unnecessary deaths.

The flu can change from year to year, and some types are worse than others. There will be several global pandemics during our lifetimes, and each of those will kill millions of people.

Flu shots are generally a good idea, even if it’s only to provide a little protection from the illness.

In addition,  flu shots help protect everyone. They’re especially important if you work with the elderly or young children.

But there’s another problem. The student health center charges $20 for flu shots, and that’s money that most students aren’t willing to pay.

It’s tough for college students to justify spending $20 on something that isn’t really needed for us to survive, especially when it doesn’t always work as intended.

The dominant strain of this year’s flu virus wasn’t even included in this year’s vaccine, so many people who did get flu shots still wound up getting sick.

The student health center needs to do something about the cost of a flu shot. Tuition is increasing again next year. Surely $20 of that increase could go towards a flu shot.

I’ve got nothing against new basketball practice facilities, but student health is kind of important too.

Another option would be to just go all the way to the government. Of the things our taxes are spent on, “not dying” should be pretty high on that list.

There’s really no excuse for charging someone $20 to protect them from something that kills half a million people worldwide annually.

Ultimately, we’re all at fault for letting the flu permeate through Des Moines.

Consider this: What if the CDC was able to produce an Ebola vaccine? People would be flocking to get it, even if it cost $20, $50 or even $100.

At the same time, the government would be roundly criticized for charging for a valuable protection against such a dangerous disease.

Two people have died from Ebola in the United States.

In most years, well over 20,000 people die from the flu in the United States.

Shouldn’t we all be doing more to prevent those deaths?

Tags: flustudent healthvaccines

TIM WEBBER

Next Post

Hey, Marty: Introducing Drake's next president

Comments 1

  1. Jackie Ye says:
    8 years ago

    Overall, this is a very good message about lowering prices to encourage a higher vaccination rate in the Drake community.

    I would like to add that as all students are supposed to have health insurance at Drake, some insurance plans allow people to get the flu vaccine, depending on the type, at no charge at some pharmacies determined by your insurance company. There are some insurance plans that think the same way already: preventative services at no charge will help encourage wellness and thus avoid additional costs to doctors’ appointments and hospitalizations. Therefore, I highly encourage others to explore the extent of how much insurance will cover the flu vaccine.

    However, not all insurance plans are created equal. Neither are the choices of flu vaccine that are available or each person. When some insurance plans don’t cover the flu vaccine to our liking, then it’s a good idea to visit the Drake Student Health Center. At best, maybe it would be a good idea that the most basic flu vaccine (the one with three flu dead strains injected into the muscle) to be 100% covered by student tuition because this type of flu vaccine is most widely available in the market and manufactured by many pharmaceutical industries.

    There are some exceptions to which the most basic flu vaccine may not sit well (and this is not an exclusive list; more is found at cdc.gov): people who fear needles, people who have severe egg allergies, and people with immunodeficiency disorders. There are other flu vaccinations to accommodate these circumstances, but they are generally more expensive because of rules of economics. The flu vaccine as a nasal spray only comes in as four weak flu strains this year (in general, adding another strain increases price), and Flublok for patients with severe egg allergies is still relatively new in the market that the supply for this is low, which will raise its price. I highly doubt that the idea of covering all sorts of flu shots available will be feasible next year until the flu vaccine market is leaning towards our favor.

    This is a great start in addressing how our investment in wellness is important as a Drake student. Hopefully our Drake community will continue to strive to be one of the healthiest states in the nation!

  • Des Moines Police identify victim in Saturday night Dogtown shooting
  • One dead, one injured in Dogtown shooting Saturday night
  • The stars must have aligned: “Silent Sky” was quite fine
  • Former U.S. diplomat draws attention to the Tigray War in Ethiopia during lecture

The Times-Delphic

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Virtual Edition
  • Advertising

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • World
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Movie
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Tech
  • Health
  • Food

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Bodybuilder is fighting for his life after taking dirty steroids femara uk trump's "operation warp speed" for mass vaxxing. "big bucks for big pharma" - global research