Students returning to campus have plenty on their plates, but staying healthy is an adjustment students shouldn’t overlook, said Chief Campus Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman in a briefing with campus media on Aug. 11.

Adapting to warmer weather, wearing sunscreen and keeping up with vaccinations are some ways for students to get accustomed — or reaccustomed — to the Los Angeles environment, she said. At the start of the semester, Student Health will also host “Immu-Fair” from Aug. 19 to 23, to provide vaccines and review vaccine records.

Summer heat requires adjustment

It takes about two weeks for the body to adjust to heat, Van Orman said. And this doesn’t just apply to students from colder climates — even Angelenos need to acclimate as daily highs climb from the 60s and 70s in June and July to potentially the 80s, 90s or even 100s in August. 

On top of being vigilant about excessive heat, Van Orman said students should monitor air quality, build healthy physical activity, sleep and nutrition habits, and reach out for help if needed.

“When we get to a new environment, no matter what the environment, there’s things that are going to be confusing, stressful are going to be difficult,” Van Orman said. “I just encourage people to give themselves a lot of patience, if it feels overwhelming, and reach out for help.” 

Students can — courtesy of the mandatory student health fee — utilize USC Counseling and Mental Health Services for counseling and take advantage of Therapy+, a collection of mental health tools and resources such as telehealth therapy and lessons about emotional response regulation.

Student Health recommends preparation before illness

According to Van Orman, part of preparing for the new school year is having enough supplies to hunker down and physically recover from catching a virus. 

“People, their first couple years in school, tend to be closer to the three to five [illnesses a year] because they’re just around [viruses] all the time,” Van Orman said. “People tend to get sick their first semester. They get here, they’re tired, they’re surrounded by everyone else who’s coughing and sneezing, and it’s a mess.”

Van Orman said students should get their yearly flu shot to prevent or lessen the symptoms from these viruses.   

However, federal scrutiny of vaccines, including flu shots, has increased. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cancelled $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts earlier in August, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — reconstituted with Kennedy appointees after he fired all 17 previous experts on the panel — voted not to recommend some types of flu vaccines due to concerns about the ingredient thimerosal which has repeatedly been shown to be safe. 

USC requires all students, unless granted a religious or medical exemption, to be vaccinated against four diseases: measles, mumps, chickenpox and meningococcal disease. All other vaccines fall into either the “strongly recommended” or “additional vaccinations to keep current” categories, neither of which are mandatory. 

Van Orman said USC’s vaccine requirements are “very consistent” with recommendations from the California Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the American College Health Association. The University of California system requires the same vaccinations as USC, with the addition of the flu shot and tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine.

“There’s lots of other vaccines that, as your physician, if you come in and see me, I’m going to absolutely recommend because I think they’re critical for your personal protection, but they’re not something that we would require as a university,” Van Orman said. 

Students must show vaccination compliance or face fees

According to Van Orman, deciding which vaccines to mandate involves several factors, including how easily the virus spreads, the severity of the illness and the level of risk it poses to the community. For example, while polio is listed in the “additional vaccinations to keep current” category, it has serious health consequences, but it is no longer seen in the United States, Van Orman said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared measles “eliminated” in the United States in 2000, but this year has seen a major outbreak: 1,356 confirmed cases so far, including 20 in California, with 92% of those infected either unvaccinated or having an unknown vaccination status. 

Mumps cases have declined by more than 99% since the US began its vaccination program in 1967, but the disease has never been eradicated. In 2006, the country experienced its largest mumps outbreak in 20 years, primarily in Midwestern college dormitories. Prior to coming to USC, Van Orman served as the executive director of health services for the University of Wisconsin-Madison — one of the affected schools — beginning two years after the outbreak.

“There are also things that if we have a single case on our campus, they result in really profound effects,” Van Orman said. “[For vaccinations, we] really take into account some of the unique risk factors that we know exist, particularly for students that live in dense residential environments.”

Student Health’s “Immu-Fair” typically draws 2,000 to 3,000 students, according to Van Orman. There, international students from countries with high incidence of tuberculosis, as determined by the World Health Organization, can undergo their required tuberculosis screening and all students can have their vaccine records reviewed and receive required vaccines.  

If students have lost or are unaware of their vaccination status, most U.S. states maintain a statewide immunization registry from which they can obtain records. In any case, there’s “absolutely no risk” in receiving a vaccine again, unless a rare underlying health condition makes re-vaccination ill-advised, according to Van Orman. 

“There’s no harm in it,” she said. “Mumps immunity does wane a little bit, so we were actually giving people third doses to help with some of their mumps immunity [during the 2006 outbreak].”

Students must show immunization compliance by Sept. 12; failure to do so will result in a course registration hold and a $50 fine.