NCO Leadership Center of Excellence and William Beaumont fight the spread of the flu | Article

As the weather cools and the trees shed their leaves, flu season quietly begins.

Influenza, more commonly known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses. Flu seasons are unpredictable and can impact the readiness and operations of Department of Defense (DoD) forces. Vaccination is the most important method of preventing the flu and its complications.

As a preventive measure to vaccinate all 38,000 Soldiers and Army Civilian Professionals (ACPs) on Fort Bliss against the flu, William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) deployed a team to administer approximately 600 vaccines at the NCO Leadership Center of Excellence (NCOLCoE) and Sergeants Major Academy (SGM-A) November 4-5. Later in the week, the team also visited the Fort Bliss NCO Academy where an additional 50 vaccinations were administered.

Brandon Thomas, a healthcare technician and vaccination coordinator, along with a team from WBAMC, launched a vaccination effort on the NCOLCoE and SGM-A campuses. This allowed Sergeants Major Academy students and staff to receive a flu vaccination without impacting the academic calendar.

Thomas reported that his team's visit to NCOLCoE and SGM-A was a success as the majority of students were vaccinated. “We are organizing and sending teams to units that do not have their own medical facilities to cover as much of Fort Bliss as possible.” He said Freedom Crossing will have teams available on all Saturdays in November, including military personnel, ACPs , give flu vaccines to relatives, pensioners and children over the age of three.

To maintain global readiness, the Army requires soldiers to have 100 percent adherence to flu vaccinations, a goal the NCOLCoE is close to achieving.

Edwin Zerr, one of the team members responsible for vaccinations, said: “The flu vaccine has been around for a long time and has been proven to be safe and reduce the likelihood of contracting the flu.” He further said that vaccination is the best way to contain the spread of the virus.

As part of their vaccination efforts, WBAMC teams will continue to deploy teams to the NCOLCoE and the Fort Bliss NCO Academy, as well as other units around Fort Bliss, to ensure maximum vaccination and will host additional free vaccination events around Fort Bliss.

The Center for Disease Control states that between 9.3 and 41 million people become ill with the flu each year in the United States, 100,000 to 710,000 of which result in hospitalizations, with 4,900 to 51,000 cases resulting in death from the flu and flu-related complications . Although the numbers vary from year to year, they should not be taken lightly.