Breanne Gumaskas

10/19/15
Influenza Vaccination Clinic
Influenza also known as the flu is a common illness that many people experience throughout
the year. Symptoms often include fever/chills, weakness/fatigue, cough. Headace, nausea/vomiting,
and/or runny nose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it can also
lead to pneumonia, blood infections, and exacerbate other medical conditions such as heart or lung
disease (2015). Older populations and those with weakened immune systems are especially
susceptible. It leads to many hospitalizations and even death. Influenza continues to remain among
the most important respiratory infections causing annual seasonal epidemics and the occasional
pandemic (Sridhar 2015).
During the flu shot clinic the second year students were put in charge. We were able to set
the room up how we wanted and delegate tasks to the first year nursing students as well as the EMT
students. We created a series of stations that each patient would go through to fill out paper work, get
blood pressures taken, blood glucose tests, receive influenza immunization and/or
tetanus/diptheria/pertussis (Tdap). We also included a waiting area with snacks for the patient after
they had received their immunization(s) to be sure that they did not have any reactions to the
immunizations, because we know that if they were to have a reaction it would typically be in the ten
minutes following the administration.
In addition to observing patients for adverse reactions, they were instructed to let one of the
staff know if they began to experience dizziness, weakness, rapid respirations, increased heart rate,
and/or swelling of the throat or face. We were prepared with an emergency kit with epinephrine in the
instance that someone were to experience an anaphylactic reaction.

Technique with vaccination administration is very important for the patients safety and the
effectiveness of the immunization. Proper technique includes identifying proper landmarks to determine
the proper location for injection, choosing the appropriate need size/gauge for each individual client,
cleaning the site prior to administration as well as aspirating before injecting the solution. Getting patient
history such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, allergies, previous flu shots and occurrence of any reactions, as
well as pregnancy is important for patient safety.
Fluarix was the vaccine used for influenza prevention at our clinic. It is an inactivated vaccine. A
seminal study investigating the durability of protection after inactivated influenza vaccination and
correlating this with antibody responses found that although there was a decline in the antibody responses
within 8 months after administration, although individuals were still protected against experimental
challenge from a live attenuated homologous virus (Sridhar 2015). CDC mentions in their vaccine
information statement that because there is no live virus in the vaccination, and it cannot cause the flu
(2015). Flu shots are not able to cover every virus that causes the flu, so there is potential that they may
become ill from a strain not covered in the vaccination.
This was a great opportunity to meet and engage with people in the community as well as
collaborate and work as a team with the first year nursing students as well as the EMT students. I feel that
my level of confidence and familiarity with intramuscular medication administration has dramatically
increased as a result of this clinic. I also enjoyed the leadership role that we were given and felt that we
were really able to make an effective and comfortable clinic experience for our patients.

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015, August 07). Vaccine information statement:
vaccine.
Sridhar, S., Brokstad, K. A., & Cox, R. J. (2015) Influenza vaccination strategies: comparing
inactivated and live attenuated influenza vaccines. Vaccines, 3(2), 373-389. Retrieved
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494344/

Influenza

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