DAVIS, Calif — The entire University of California system is now requiring all students, faculty and staff to get their flu shots, in addition to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
A line stretches around the UC Davis Rec Center on Thursday of students waiting to get tested for COVID-19, campus officials set up shop for day 1 of their flu shot clinic for students.
"The more shots we get out there, the better," Andy Fell, a spokesman for UC Davis said.
This comes as they're preparing to help vaccinate upwards of 38,000 students who are now required to get the flu shot or file an exemption before Nov. 19.
"Well this year we have COVID-19 on top of the flu of course, we don't want to see both of those things happening at the same time in our community, while Covid-19 is much more serious, flu can be serious too, we just want to keep that as low as possible," Fell said.
Most students ABC10 spoke with were in favor of it but some students, like Wesley Gerard, believe this might be a step too far even though he already got his flu shot a few days ago.
"I think the school's role is to teach us, not to tell us what to do with our bodies," Gerard said.
"I don't think if Covid was a thing, they would force us to take flu shots," Oshiogwe Nash-Haruna, a sophomore said.
While others commend the school for adding a new level of protection.
"People have been taking flu shots for years and it's been cool so I'm for it," Jonah "Peltz" Pelter, a senior said.
"I think it's a good job that they're mandating it, at least in my personal opinion, I feel like something like flu, if one person catches it, pretty much half the campus gets it in a really small timeframe," Darshan Shivakumar, a freshman said.
As for students and staff who don't comply with the flu vaccine mandate, they will still be required to wear a mask on campus, even if COVID-19 restrictions on mask-wearing are lifted.
"It's not just for you but for those around you and so if you care about the community as a whole which you should, it's probably better to do it just to be on the safe side," Austin Ow, a junior said.
ABC10 checked with Sacramento State, part of the California State University system on their policy and for now, they say, "Sacramento State does not require flu vaccinations, but we encourage the campus community to get vaccinated."
