Students have been flocking to get their flu vaccinations, and will likely continue to do so throughout the duration of the flu season. All of the spots on campus to get the shots are heavily advertising them. But if you’re an international student or even just a domestic student without the Medical Services Plan of BC (MSP), the only truly free place to get your flu shot is through UBC.
For students with MSP, the shots given out by commercial pharmacies (like Shopper's Drug Mart) on campus usually don't come out of the student's pocket — meaning that the student can walk in, get their arm poked and walk out. But anyone else will be charged through their healthcare provider, the AMS Health and Dental Plan, or have to pay up front.
For students on the Health and Dental Plan, the cost of the vaccine takes away from the $150 in coverage each student gets — for vaccines specifically — from the AMS. If the student then wants to charge other vaccines to their Health and Dental Plan, they will have fewer funds with which to do so.
In addition to this, technically this year’s Health and Dental Plan only covers 70 per cent of each vaccine that a student wishes to get. However, many commercial pharmacies still don’t make the student pay anything up front, taking the 30 per cent hit in profit margin, and saving the AMS money.
Each pharmacy varies in the price that they charge for their flu shots — some are up to $30, some are much less than that, which then changes how much the student's health plan is affected as well as how much is charged to the Health and Dental Plan’s vaccine costs.
Regardless of your domestic or international status, or what kind of health coverage you have, UBC’s flu shots are free to all students, faculty and staff.
Visit UBC’s website for more information on their vaccinations.