Community Flu Vaccine Drive

By Office of The President | Nov 29, 2022

With the continuing rise of influenza cases in New York and throughout the nation, SUNY Downstate’s Chinese American Medical Society (CAMS) and Latino Medical Students Association (LMSA) student clubs, in collaboration with the Academy of Medical & Public Health Services, Mon Yuck Yu, MPA, executive vice president & chief of staff continue to promote their flu vaccine projects by going out to various venues to reaching and educate the members of the Brooklyn community about the importance of receiving flu vaccine especially, during the holiday season.

It is more important than ever that the Brooklyn community also get the flu vaccine in conjunction with the bivalent COVID vaccine during the fall.  As part of the students’ community service learning project, the Asian Pacific-American Medical Students Association (APAMSA) and CAMS student clubs, with support from Councilmember Alexa Avilés, kicked off the community flu vaccine drive and hepatitis B screening at the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC) office earlier this month.

The students who completed these activities included Students for Social Responsibility (SSR), Latino Medical Students Association (LMSA), Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AΩA), Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians (BNGAP) student clubs, and the College of Nursing Students at Holy Cross RC Church, which also hosted a flu vaccine drive, blood pressure screening, and health education announcements.

Both events are SUNY Downstate student-sponsored and are led by medical student-leaders Grace (Sifan) Lu, Luanna Chan, Taylor Wong, Ruby Chung, Bana Hadid, Adem Idrizi, Miar Elaskandrany, Noshin Choudhury, Bertilia Tavárez, Heidi Sosa, Sharon Guzman, Michael Freilich, Christopher Garnett, Bradley Amazan, and Lisa Scott; they are trained and guided by Betty Jung, RN (Center for Community Health Promotion and Wellness).

A special thank you to Clivia Torres, LCSW-R, care manager, Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease (CEAD), for her continuous support for bringing Alzheimer’s community awareness and education at this event.

The medical students who speak fluent Chinese and Spanish volunteered their time to educate the community about flu prevention for themselves and their families and friends.