Flu season is here. Students come to school and share desks, chairs and hallways with hundreds of other people. Students cough, sneeze and breathe the same air as harmful viruses are passed around.

Health experts say it is imperative that students get vaccinated for the flu this year. It decreases the risk of yourself and others from hospitalization and death from the flu.

“The whole point of the vaccine is to not get the disease, or at the very least, get a mild form of the disease so that you can deal with it and move on and not end up in the hospital,” Kathy Colson, a registered nurse and clinic supervisor for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said.

The flu shot is a small, easy step one person can take that can protect everyone from death and hospitalization, Colson said.

Flu vaccines can be acquired at the Health Department, pharmacy or doctor’s office. A primary reason flu shots are not offered for students at school is because of the cost, said Denise Johnson, the health, physical education, wellness and ESL coordinator for the school district.

However, USD 497 employees are recommended and given the opportunity to get the flu vaccines. The school board endorsed the flu shot because of the benefits of wellness for staff, Johnson said.

There is also a lot of preliminary work that would have to be done before giving vaccines at school, Colson said. Parental permission is required, which would mean forms and proof of insurance. Colson also said they don’t have enough staff members at the Health Department to administer shots at every school.

Colson believes it is important to get a vaccine as a preventative measure.

“Why would you not want to get a vaccine to not get [the flu]?” she said. “To me, it just follows with the whole thing of, ‘I don’t want to be sick.’ Well then, let’s do this. Let’s do it.”

Many people don’t get vaccines because they don’t like needles, they feel they are healthy enough already or have moral beliefs against it.

Side effects can occur from the vaccine, but it is very rare, Colson said.

“Those instances are so very rare when you look at the numbers of vaccines that I don’t think it would be a healthy decision to stop a vaccine program because of an occasional issue,” she said.

Johnson said her family gets a shot every year.

“Being able to provide one more layer of protection for my family feels like the right thing to do as a mom,” she said.

Overall, it is just a better idea to get a flu shot and prevent the risk of illness, Colson said.

“When you look at the benefit over time, when you can watch a disease curve go from ‘here’ to ‘here’ in your lifetime, it can make a big difference,” Colson said.