How much is a flu shot out of pocket

Flu shots are now available on all campuses! Please call the telephone number for the campus clinic most convenient for you (below) for appointments or information. All Bulls are encouraged to get the flu shot so they're prepared for cold and flu season. COVID + Flu = Don't let it happen to you!

STUDENTS: You will not have to pay out of pocket for your flu shot. The flu shot is included with tuition. We are offering campus clinics Monday through Friday.

FACULTY & STAFF: Please see below

For our Monday through Friday campus clinics, see locations below. Complete an online request for your campus day & time HERE

or call your campus clinic below:
Tampa 813.445.4976 or 813.974.2331
St. Petersburg 727.873.4422
Sarasota-Manatee 813.974.2331 or 941.487.4254

CAMPUS

Tampa campus - Student Health clinic
SHS 100
between Bookstore & Castor Beach
4107 USF Cedar Circle, Tampa, FL 33620

Now offering walk-in availability
Monday through Friday
1pm - 4pm WALK-IN for flu shot
Monday - Friday, 8am - 5:30pm with  your clinic appointment + flu shot 

Wednesdays 11am-2pm
Ocotober 26

FACULTY & STAFF: The flu vaccination can be administered at Employee Benefits Fair or Mobile, drop-in clinics (see table below)

• The flu shot is covered 100% by the State PPO, HMO, and high deductible insurance plans.
• OPS Staff may receive the flu vaccination without insurance for $25. 
• If you have an alternate insurance plan that does not cover the vaccination 100%, the maximum out of pocket cost is $25.
• We are not offering Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent; we recommend visiting an off-campus location for high-dose flu vaccination

Tampa campus- Now offering walk-in!
Student Health Services

Monday trhough Friday
1pm - 4pm WALK-IN for flu shot 

Sarasota-Manatee Main Rotunda

Flu Shot Myths

1. Flu shots will give you the flu. 
   • FALSE... the vaccine contains the dead flu virus... it is dead.... It cannot infect you.
2. Vaccines are dangerous. 
   • FALSE... Vaccines are, arguably, the greatest medical advance in history. They've prevented more illness and death than any treatment.
3. It's after November; it's too late to get a flu shot. 
   • FALSE... There are plenty of vaccines left, and the flu stays around through March, so you still have plenty of time to protect yourself.
4. I got the vaccine last year, so I am protected. 
   • FALSE... Each year there are new strains of the flu virus and the vaccine needs to change to keep up.

By arming yourself with a flu shot you are protecting yourself and those around you. Watch Rocky get his flu shot in this short video. 

Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are in the vaccine.

The flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season.

Can I get the flu from the vaccine?

No. The flu vaccine is not a “live” vaccine, so you can’t get the flu from the vaccine.

However, it is possible to have reactions – you might feel like you have a minor cold, with symptoms such as a sore throat or runny nose for a couple of days. You might also have a sore arm for a few days. While this is irritating, it is obviously better than contracting actual influenza.

Also, at this time of year it’s quite possible that you will have contracted the flu or a cold in the day or two before you get the vaccine but not yet be showing any symptoms, or you might do so in the week or so after the vaccine (noting that the vaccine takes a few weeks to work).

This means it might feel like the flu vaccine has caused your illness, but it hasn’t – you were going to feel sick whether or not you’d had the vaccine.

How much does the flu vaccine cost?

At North Brighton Medical, the flu vaccine ordinarily costs $22 with a valid Medicare card (or $50.90 without).

However, people in high risk groups are entitled to a government funded vaccine as discussed above. With a valid Medicare card, people in these groups are bulk billed and therefore have no out of pocket cost.

When should I get my flu vaccine?

Because the flu mutates regularly, you need a flu vaccine each year to retain protection.

It’s difficult to predict when outbreaks of the flu will occur, except that they usually occur in cooler months (ie. winter, plus the end of autumn and the start of spring).

Flu vaccines usually start becoming available at the start of autumn. However, the flu vaccine only has effectiveness for a limited time (about 3 to 4 months), so if you have it too early, its effectiveness may have worn off before the end of the flu season. Indeed, in 2017, most flu cases were in August and September rather than the usual, so people vaccinated in April didn’t have as much protection as those vaccinated later. In contrast, in 2019, the flu started earlier, with a significant number of cases throughout April to September.

It should also be kept in mind that the vaccine takes at least two weeks to work.

If you’re travelling during our summer to cooler parts of the northern hemisphere (where it is winter, the end of autumn or the start of spring), you should consider getting a flu vaccine at least two weeks before you travel.

Will the flu vaccine definitely stop me from getting the flu?

Unfortunately, no. As discussed above, influenza is a disease the mutates regularly, and there are many different strains. So although you may be vaccinated, you might not have much immunity from a newly mutated strain.

Also, the flu vaccine only has effectiveness for a limited time – if there is a flu outbreak later in the year (in late winter or early spring), you may be susceptible.

However, given flu outbreaks tend to occur in colder months, it is worth the protection of getting the vaccine at the start of the flu season.

This is especially the case if you’re in one of the higher risk groups discussed above that are entitled to a government funded vaccine. If your not in one of these groups, getting vaccinated will also mean it’s less likely people in these high risks groups contract or suffer serious complications from the flu.

I’ve had the flu before and it wasn’t really that bad. Maybe I shouldn’t bother getting the flu vaccine this year?

It may be that you haven’t really ever have the “flu”, or at least not recently.

Many people talk about having the “flu” when they actually just have a bad case of the “common cold”. Many of the symptoms are similar, such as a coughing, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, and headache, so it makes sense that people confuse the two.

However, if you do have an actual case of the flu, you tend to know about it because the symptoms are usually much more severe than those for a mere cold. In particular, a person with the flu will usually also suffer from fever and body aches.

This means a person suffering from the flu will likely be out of action for several days, and many people will struggle to get out of bed, let alone make it to work or school. It’s much less likely they’ll be able to take some cold and flu tablets and “soldier on” like people are generally able to do for a cold.

For people in a higher risk groups, a case of the flu may require hospitalisation, and may even be fatal.

In 2019:

• over 310,011 Australians had a confirmed case of the flu, but it is likely many more would have had the flu but not been tested - this was more than 5 times the number of cases in 2018;

• the flu was estimated to have caused more than 800 deaths in Australia;

• between April and September, there were 3732 people admitted to hospitals due to the flu, and of those, 237 were admitted to an intensive care unit (6.4% of hospitalisations); and

• a record 12.5 million flu vaccines were distributed in Australia.

By getting a flu vaccine, you'll help stop the spread of the flu and therefore provide additional protection to the more vulnerable members of the community such as kids, the elderly and those with low immunity. 

flu vaccine side effects

If you or your child have been vaccinated recently and are experiencing side effects, read here for more information.