WVU School of Medicine receives recognition for flu vaccination initiative

The Department of Emergency Medicine at the West Virginia University School of Medicine was recently recognized among higher education peers by Alana’s Foundation for promoting higher campus-wide flu vaccination rates.

The Department was declared the winner in the “large school” category (25,000 or more students) in the foundation’s annual Alana Yaskich College and University Flu Vaccination Challenge, which pits similar sized schools head to head in a friendly competition to promote the importance of the flu shot for students.

WVU’s efforts were coordinated by Niki Thorn, Kayla Cuppett and Carmen Burrell.

Starting earlier in fall, the challenge ended in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national influenza vaccination week, which encourages everyone six months of age and older to get the flu shot before the holiday season.

Additional flu resources can be found at the CDC’s flu page, and vaccine facts can be found here.