Northwood School hosted a flu clinic to ensure all kids can get a flu vaccine. A date was scheduled with local pharmacy Kinney Drugs in the spring. Parents signed their students up in the summer by completing the online form in Magnus Health. Appointments were scheduled by sports team/co-curricular activity during flex to not miss class time. Four staff members and Nurse Marge helped the pharmacist at the vaccine clinic.

Ms. Wint, Ms. Wright, Ms. Mandigo, and Ms. Hathaway were volunteers for the clinic.

“I love to volunteer my time to good causes and help others, so of course, I said yes to helping our very busy Nurse Marge when she asked. Having a clinic on campus at Northwood makes it easy for students and faculty to get vaccinated for the flu, which will hopefully keep our community healthier this fall and winter,” Ms. Lisa Wint said. “Avoiding the flu will reduce the number of missed class days and keep us all healthy so that we can enjoy the many extracurricular things we love to do, too. I told Marge that I was happy to do any job they needed to be done at the clinic. It turned out that my key role was to distract kids who were nervous or scared of having a shot, and I was also a “runner” who went to find the students who were missing from their appointed time slots,” Wint added.

“I volunteer for the flu clinic each year because, as part of the health team, I like to help whenever I can with health initiatives at Northwood,” Ms. Tara Wright explained. “It is important to offer students and faculty the option of a flu vaccine at school because it is usually not available before school starts. Students might get other vaccines before coming to Northwood, but they cannot get the flu vaccine at that time. I helped determine which arms students would use for the vaccine, recorded that on their vaccine forms, and helped Nurse Marge confirm the information on the computer. I also tried to help reassure students who were nervous about getting a shot,” added Wright.

Gus Garvey ’25 got his flu shot at Northwood because his parents signed him up for it. They have done this every year, and he is not opposed to it because it makes his life easier. He has gotten his flu shot many times before this. Gus was not scared, but he said it is “unpleasant like any needle going into your arm is.” He had things that he thought were the flu. “I’m sure I have had the flu, but I’ve never gotten tested to prove that I had it. To get through it I just look ahead and get it over with, not a big deal,” Garvey said.

Clay Fuller ’25 also got his flu shot at Northwood because he needed the vaccine. There is no real reason he did not get it at home. He has gotten his flu shot before. “There aren’t any downsides that stand out other than my arm being sore for the day.” He was not scared to get the flu shot. “I have never been scared of needles,” Fuller said. He had the flu as a kid, and it was horrible. “I was throwing up and was sick. I would never want to experience the feeling again,” said Clay. Another reason for getting his flu shot is that he does not have to go through that again. “I have an insane pain tolerance,” Clay said, so he does not need to do anything to help him through getting the shot.