MARINE FORCES RESERVE, New Orleans -- Marines and sailors took a break from the daily work routine here to get their seasonal flu vaccinations Oct. 27.
The influenza flu is a contagious respiratory illness that can cause mild sickness or even death.
The Marine Corps published Marine Administrative Message 571/10 Oct. 13 as guidance to preventing the seasonal flu. The vaccination is mandatory not only to Marines, but for all service members.
“We are hoping to give everyone within the battalion inoculation over a two week period,” said Lt. Col. Todd D. Ford, Marine Forces Reserve Headquarters Battalion commanding officer. “The shot is an important preventive measure to keep people from getting sick, which means missing workdays or transferring it to others which all result in a loss of man hours.”
Marines and sailors were vaccinated throughout the day by a medical team from the local Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base, Belle Chasse. The corpsmen also assisted the patients to document their immunizations. The service members received either flu shots or mists, each taking just a few minutes to administer.
“The flu shot protects you against the top three flu strands so you don’t get sick with the flu and miss work or spread it,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Katherine Terry, a preventive medicine technician in charge of the inoculations.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most experts believe that the virus spreads when people infected with the flu cough, sneeze or talk and the air droplets lands in the mouths or noses of bystanders. People can also acquire the flu from touching a surface with the virus on it, then touching the mouth, nose or eyes. The virus can be transferred from a day before symptoms develop to a day after sickness.
“It keeps us from getting infected with the flu,” said Cpl. Brandon Dion, a legal clerk with Headquarters Battalion Marine Forces Reserve and New Orleans native. “We have an opportunity to get the shot and not that many people have the opportunity to do this so we should take advantage of it.”
The medical team vaccinated more than 320 service members throughout the day. There are more than 1,000 Marines and sailors within the battalion.
“The goal is 100 percent,” said Ford. “Everybody is important to our mission.”
Additional immunization will take place on four different days during a two week period. Civilians will be provided an opportunity to get inoculated after the first three days of the vaccination evolution.