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Oct 28, 2008 6:47 pm US/Central
'U' Makes Flu Shot Record With 11,538 Shots
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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University students, faculty, staff and their dependents are eligible for the free vaccination. Members of the general public are not eligible. (File)
AP
The University of Minnesota is the new Guinness World Record holder for
most flu shots. They gave vaccinations to 11,538 people Tuesday.
Thousands of people rolled up their sleeves, and at times, the lines were so long that they wrapped around the immunization tent.
The university hoped to set a Guinness World Record by giving between 6,000 and 10,000 free flu shots in one day, and they surpassed that. The old record was 3,271.
The school said that it was prepared to give 20,000 shots if needed.
"It's free and on campus -- easy to do it," said student Paul Vecchi.
While this is a fun feat to accomplish, organizers say it's much more than setting a record.
Viking players, Otis Grigsby and Eric Frampton were also on hand to help drum up support.
"If someone came out because we're out here, that's cool, but I'd rather it be just because they wanted to stay healthy," said Grigsby, Vikings Defensive End.
It took a lot of people to pull this off -- a couple hundred volunteers, plus 60 nurses.
University officials said it's worth the effort.
"Flu causes about 39,000 deaths in the United States each year, and hundreds and thousands of illnesses, with missed days of schools, missed days of work, so it's a huge problem," said Director of Boynton Health Service, Ed Ehlinger. "If we can get college students to get immunized, it may set a tone for the rest of society to say, 'Oh! Maybe I should get a flu shot too.'"
We have no confirmed flu cases this year in Minnesota, but last season we had more than 800 cases.
"I just didn't want to sick this year with the flu," said student Erin Kurshoff.
This was also a drill for the school's emergency response team.
"They're learning how to do mass immunization clinics, so if we ever have an emergency, we would of have gone through the logistics," said Ed Ehlinger.
The shots were being given at four locations around the Minneapolis and
St. Paul campuses. University students, faculty, staff and their
dependents were eligible for the free vaccination. Members of the
general public were not eligible.
Parents are going to want to get their kids immunized. This year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded flu shot recommendations to include all children from 6 months to 18 years of age.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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