Flu vaccinations for inmates as unnecessary as for college students

House Editorial

Plastic trays, tiny windows and cinderblock cells — it may sound like a life only suited to an inmate. But this shoddy excuse for an existence is all too common. We, the poor college students of America, are also condemned to the same dank, lackluster environment.

The similarities are numerous. Inmates eat in cafeterias. Students eat in cafeterias. Inmates share bathrooms. Students share bathrooms. Inmates have cellmates. And yes, students have cellmates — ahem, we mean roommates.

But what about the differences?

Two distinctions come to mind. First, most of our fellow students are not convicted felons (we hope). Second, some inmates have access to flu shots. Despite our disturbingly similar living conditions, most students this year don’t.

The Associated Press reports that inmates at some federal and state facilities receive flu shots. Most are at highrisk, prison officials said, meaning that the prisoner is either 65 and older or suffering from a chronic medical condition. They say it’s the best way to fend off a flu epidemic inside the prisons — which would be costly to taxpayers.

Their claim is weak.

Why? Because it isn’t fair. With 98 million people at risk for flu complications, the available 55.4 million vaccines obviously won’t do. With such a desperate shortage, the living conditions of an inmate should not be taken into consideration any more than the living conditions of a student.

Prison officials argue that inmates should receive shots because they live in close quarters — placing them at higher risk for the flu. Even still, the AP reports that no prision official could recall a serious outbreak of the flu among inmates.

The average student spends hours in confinement of his or her dorm room or apartment, and most certainly aren’t any more sanitary than the conditions some prisons report. While we admit students have stronger immune systems, their proximity to hoards of other individuals negates the influence of their age.

If prison officials continue to point to living conditions as a reason to dispense shots, on these grounds, students are just as deserving. And herein lies the problem: Neither students nor inmates deserve the vaccines.

To argue that inmates do because of their environment is ridiculous and uncompassionate toward those who truly need the shot. One could make the argument that students also deserve the vaccine because of their living conditions. However, we won’t — and most people don’t — because it’s selfish and foolish to assume that students wouldn’t be willing to forgo vaccination when others are at a higher risk.

Our generation’s similarities with inmates extend beyond our lowly living conditions — we both can afford the sacrifice.