Fall will soon be upon us, and with the seasonal change comes another season: Flu season. While cases of Influenza occur year round, epidemics regularly occur in winter and fall. According to recent studies, 5-20% of the United States population falls ill every Flu season, with over 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths. This year, Le Moyne hopes to beat the Flu before it breaks out. On October 9, Le Moyne will be hosting a POD to give out Flu vaccines.

Points of Dispensing, or PODs, are sites where people can go to receive medications, vaccines, and other medical supplies during a public health emergency. The goal of a POD is to collaborate with local health departments and emergency services to prevent the outbreak of disease and save lives by getting these supplies to the largest number of healthy people in the least amount of time. PODs are not meant to treat people who are already sick.

To accommodate these goals, PODs often take place in familiar settings like schools or churches. These sites are planned in advance to be both accessible and safe to the public. The individual site may differ, but each POD is organized and ran in a similar structure. They are designed to be simple, fast, and adaptable to any situation that may occur. Though PODs are a relatively new idea, they have proved to be very effective and efficient.

The POD will find its home in the James Commons and Curtin Special Events Room from 10am-2pm on October 9. Le Moyne has previously hosted a POD in the Henninger Athletic Center, and hopes the James Commons will be a more suitable location. All are welcome to come down and receive a vaccine. Most insurance plans are accepted, but if you are not covered it will only cost $35. Protect yourself and everyone around you!

Volunteers interested in helping out are also welcome and needed. Any volunteers will only be asked to perform simple tasks and for a short duration. The shifts will be from 9:30-11, 10:45-12:15, and 12-2. Please contact [email protected] if you are willing to help out at any of these times.