The Wellness at Penn’s annual campus flu clinic takes place at the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center.
Credit: Abhiram Juvvadi
Penn has experienced an unexpected increase in cases of the flu, particularly among students living in the College House system, according to Wellness at Penn.
In a recent email sent to College House residents, Wellness at Penn outlined suggested actions for students to take when sick — including resting, hydrating, masking in shared spaces, wiping down shared surfaces, practicing hand hygiene, and staying at home. The message also recommended evening and weekend support for in-person health visits.
“While this is an unusual time for us to be seeing flu, it is important that students know it is real influenza and not ‘freshmen flu’ or ‘the crud,’” Ashlee Halbritter, who serves as Penn’s executive director of Public Health and Well-being wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Influenza spreads through respiratory droplets, which can be developed by talking, yelling, singing, or coughing, and can spread quickly in close environments, Halbritter added. She also emphasized that students should look out for signs of upper respiratory illness like a runny nose, discharge from the nose and throat, low-grade fever, and fatigue.
“Our colleagues in Student Health and Counseling are ready to help when you’re feeling unwell and have regular evening and weekend hours throughout the academic year,” Halbritter wrote.
Additionally, students are encouraged to receive a flu shot at the flu clinic that will occur Oct. 15-17 at Pottruck Health and Fitness Center. Last year, Wellness at Penn’s annual campus flu clinic vaccinated approximately 7,300 Penn community members. The 2024 clinic was themed “Philadelphia,” following a “Candy Land” theme from 2023.
According to Rebecca Huxta, Wellness at Penn’s director of public health, more than 5,400 of those vaccinated in 2024 were students, and around 1,800 were faculty or staff of the University. Wellness at Penn also invited undergraduate nursing students to volunteer with their instructors to support vaccine preparation and administration during the clinic.
In February 2025, researchers at Penn announced that they were continuously monitoring instances of avian flu for potential outbreaks. According to the CDC, bird flu has caused recent human cases in dairy and poultry workers in the United States, though the risk to the public remains low.
There is not an increased risk of influenza in the greater Philadelphia area currently, according to The Weather Channel.
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