I would like to reply to the Wespeak by Mr. Kurtis in his September 15, 2009 “On-campus Flu Shots are Over-priced and Unjust.” The Davison Health Center does not have enough staff to provide daily clinical services and also hold a campus-wide flu clinic that averages over 800 participants. In past years we have outsourced the flu clinics for convenience to the campus community. All services, including the purchase of vaccine, and cost is set by the VNA Health Care agency that will be providing staff at the clinics. They are charging Wesleyan the lowest possible cost for the vaccine and their services. Pricing has not changed from last year.
Wesleyan does not gain financially from the flu clinics and in no way are student flu shots subsidizing the employee’s flu clinic. “Free” flu shots are available for faculty and staff who are eligible for the University’s Cigna Health Insurance as part of their benefit package. It is less costly to have employees attend a flu clinic at Wesleyan than for the University to pay an office visit plus cost of vaccine if employees go to a private physician’s office. The price charged from VNA Health Care is the same for students and employees.
Students who have private insurance can request a statement from the Health Center to file to insurance for a refund. We encourage all students to get a seasonal flu shot regardless of where they decided to get the shot.
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