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It’s that time of year: pumpkin spice galore, fall foliage adorning the yard, debates over proper puffer jacket-wearing etiquette (especially for the West Coast newbies), “Gilmore Girls” on repeat. Is it autumn, you might ask? No. It’s flu season!

This time marks the start of the season of rampant, shared and ambiguous illnesses, one of them being the flu. This means it’s the perfect time to get the flu vaccine, which also happens to be mandatory to register for classes! And yes, we know it’s hard to believe that spring course registration is already approaching.

In anticipation and preparation for this upcoming semester and season of neverending shared sickness, I got my vaccine at the Smith Center on Friday, Oct. 20. Booking an appointment was easy. We’ve all had our fair share of HUHS Encounters, but it was super straightforward to choose a time slot and enter some quick, preliminary health history information.

One QR code and follow-up email later, I walked over to the Smith Center and was immediately greeted with people guiding me to the check-in location. I showed them my ID and turned to find a line like Sunday Sundae at Berg — which was almost as disappointing as finding out the main entree was some form of fish at Berg.

Yet, oddly enough, I was in and out in five minutes — it was perhaps the most organized event I have been to on campus thus far. There were signs everywhere directing you to either side of the room based on whether you were a walk-in or had an appointment. In fact, the walk-in line was shorter than the one for booked appointments. Note to self: trying to be a responsible adult by scheduling ahead of time did not in fact pay off!

As I briefly waited in line, I enjoyed “Puss in Boots” (does Remy get his flu vaccine too??) playing on the big screen before being ushered into one of the many booths. I came with nothing and left with an extra buff left arm, a fulfilled registration requirement, free snacks, and most notably, a sticker that also served as a coupon for $2 off Mother Juice for the entire week! Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience getting vaccinated as we enter the next couple of months of our favorite guessing game: is it the common cold, covid, or [frat] flu?

Processing time for care outside of HUHS: It can take up to 10-15 business days to process documentation from care received outside of HUHS. Act now to ensure your documentation is processed in time! Or you will find yourself not able to enroll and your advisor will be mad and we’ll be like “I told you so.” No, HUHS did not tell us to write this. Or did they…

If you haven’t received a flu shot yet, get one as soon as possible and submit the documentation in the HUHS Patient Portal. You can make an appointment to get one through HUHS.

While the walk-in clinic has ended, you can also go to CVS (let’s exert some self-control on the snack budget while we’re there). Get your vaccine today, and keep yourself safe from the Season of the Sicks!