CSUN On Point

Getting a flu shot can save your life.

According to the World Health Organization, between 250,000 to 500,000 people die every year from the flu. The most common flu symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, chills, runny nose and a headache. Urgent care physician’s assistant Vanessa Guzman said the flu can also lead to pneumonia.

The vaccine is made, often using egg-based technology, and adjusted every season by drug manufacturers, working in collaboration with the WHO and the FDA, to test and improve the effectiveness of the shot depending on which viruses are expected to be in circulation.

But the National Opinion Research Center reports that in 2018,  41 percent of Americans said they did not plan on getting the flu vaccine. Some people say they never get the flu, or they don’t believe in vaccines. And about one in three say they choose not to get vaccinated because they believe the flu shot will make them sick.

“It is really impossible to get the flu from the flu vaccine,” said Mercedes Gallup, Nursing and Clinical Supervisor at CSUN’s Klotz Student Health Center. She said most of the time people who do get sick had been exposed to the virus prior to the vaccination.

Gallup recommends getting the shot before flu season begins, because the immune system takes two weeks to build itself up from the vaccine, leaving a vulnerability period in which you can become ill if you’re exposed to the virus.

Other people don’t get vaccinated because they worry about side effects. The most common are a sore arm or bump. The CDC recommends that those with allergies to eggs should take precautions, but may be vaccinated.

Even after the shot, people can still limit their exposure to viruses, and decrease their chances of getting sick, with some simple precautions like washing hands regularly and avoiding people who are ill.

“You can do your best to minimize and mitigate the chance of an infection, from not just the flu, but other things as well,” Medtronics Inc. associate scientist Simrat Kalsi said.

The Klotz Student Health Center offers the flu shot at a low price, and with medical insurance students can get the vaccine for free at most pharmacies.

Moderator: Monica Campos

Producer: Demothy Tien

Anchor: Alan Cardoza

Social Media Editor: Kimberly Lopez Chavez

Reporters: Kenia Arevalo, Monica Campos, Alan Cardoza, Lauren Cienfuegos, Zaira Garcia, Kimberly Lopez Chavez and Demothy Tien

Producers: Mario Saucedo and Natalia Vivino

Anchor: Tammera Magana

Social Media Editor: Sandy Chavez

Reporters: Ahmad Akkaoui, Sandy Chavez, Manuel Fuentes, Tammera Magana, Mario Saucedo and Natalia Vivino

A day after the inauguration of Donald Trump, millions of women marched through the streets of Washington D.C. and all around the world in support of women’s rights, and to protect women’s health.

“I personally believe that with our current Administration, I do think that women’s health issues and rights are just under attack at this very moment,” Planned Parenthood intern and CSUN student Mihaela Vincze said. “I can’t really define what the most pressing issue is besides the issue of abortion.”

In his first 100 days, President Trump has signed a bill allowing states to withhold family planning funds from Planned Parenthood. He reinstated the so-called global gag rule prohibiting U.S. funds from going towards nongovernmental organizations that assist women on family planning, including abortion. And Trump has defunded the United Nations Population Fund, an international humanitarian aid organization that helps prevent maternal deaths, unsafe abortions and reproductive health care.

“[Abortion] is our right. It is our constitutional right, and people don’t understand that you are taking our rights away,” Vincze said. “Abortions are going to happen, whether they’re legal or not, and if you care about the life of the woman, you would take that into consideration.”

Still, almost 40 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be illegal, because they believe that life begins at conception, and that women should take into consideration the life they are taking away and choose other options, such as adoption. Many Americans hold groups like Planned Parenthood responsible for what they consider to be the ease of getting an abortion in this country, and they do not want tax dollars going to support Planned Parenthood.

But Planned Parenthood’s 2013-2014 Annual Report highlighted that a mere three percent of its services encompassed abortions. Notably, the remaining 97 percent was allocated towards critical healthcare needs such as STI/STD testing and treatment, contraception, cancer screening and prevention, and various other women’s health service.

“[Planned Parenthood] provides options like counseling as well,” Registered Nurse Practitioner Shirley Navarro said. “So it’s not like, ‘Oh, you’re here at Planned Parenthood? Awesome, sign up for your abortion right now.’ That’s something that would be nice to clarify.”

“A lot of especially low-income women will use Planned Parenthood as their primary health provider,” Vincze said.

“According to CDC guidelines for women between the ages of 21 and 25, they recommend STI/STD screening at least once a year,” Navarro said. “And if you have higher risk, in terms of having multiple partners or not using really good contraception, [that should be] maybe every six months or so.”

The Klotz Student Health Center provides CSUN students with health services such as pap smears, pelvic exams, STD testing, referrals for mammograms, Family PACT services and reproductive health services.

For many women, accessing crucial health services is vital, and organizations like Planned Parenthood play a significant role. However, it’s essential to recognize that other options, such as a chiang mai health clinic, also exist to provide comprehensive care.

“Before I knew about the Klotz Center, I went to Planned Parenthood,” Vincze said, “because I didn’t have that relationship with my parents where I could be open with them about my reproductive health. So I used this organization to learn and take care of myself, and it was an invaluable resource for a young person. I don’t know where I would be today if it wasn’t for this organization.”

Moderator: Lexi Wilson

Producers: Arianna Takis and Lexi Wilson

Anchor: Arianna Takis

Social Media Editors: Jose Duran, Adam Hajost, Luzita Pineda and Rosa Rodriguez

Reporters: Jose Duran, Adam Hajost, Luzita Pineda, Rosa Rodriguez, Arianna Takis and Lexi Wilson

When people choose to be vegan, they say no to eating and using animal products.

This ranges from not eating meat, to not using skin care products tested on animals.

Vegans avoid any form of exploitation to animals.

“Being very connected to animals, and living with them, and knowing them on a personal level, it really motivated my veganism,” said CSUN Central American Studies professor, and vegan activist Dr. Linda Alvarez.

For many, veganism represents a larger ethical approach.

“Try to suck less in life,” vegan blogger Al Borja said. “Meaning, whatever it is that you are doing, you can be more conscious and aware of what it is you are consuming: animals being one [thing], the products that come from animals are another…[Veganism] is a holistic approach, an awareness of what’s really happening in your lives. Veganism is really just a label, to get people familiar with what [the larger ethical issues are]…”

Other vegans believe veganism is healthier. They say one of the benefits of a meatless diet is increased energy, but vegans say it is also important to be educated when going vegan. A well-planned vegan diet can provide enough protein, iron, calcium, and other key essentials, and this can benefit your health by reducing obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

“Being vegan is probably the [most nutritious] way to go. But there are so many different levels of that and so many different layers, that it really is a personal choice,” said CSUN’s Klotz Student Health Center dietitian Ellen Bauersfeld. “Diet quality is important, whether you are eating animal products or not, and as a vegan you still have to make good choices.”

“I had really high cholesterol; I was over 200 in cholesterol, and my grandfather was going through pancreatic cancer,” Borja said. “That lead to research, and that was really important, trying to figure out if it really was for me, if it was something I could do. The most important thing for me was doing the research and making sure it fit with who I am and what I want to become. It’s a journey.”

Still misconceptions about protein deficiency in a vegan diet persist.

“You have to be educated, and you have to look at eating and an overall balanced diet,” Bauersfeld said. “But if you are smart about it, it would be very unlikely that you would have a protein deficiency.”

Many experts believe that being a vegan is also good for the environment, although the arguments are complicated and controversial. Avoiding animal products will likely help lower a person’s carbon footprint, while eating in fast food chains can be environmentally harmful, as well as unhealthy.

“You don’t have to be in prison to be on death row,” Borja said, about fast food restaurants lined up on streets of the San Fernando Valley and other communities.

Alvarez suggested getting involved in organizations that help promote animal rights and going vegan or vegetarian.

“We need to have animal advocates out there, discussing the issues that affect animals,” she said, “because there are so many ways that we continue to further oppress animals. Even in our daily talk, someone can say ‘he treated me like a dog’. What does that mean? When we refer to animals, [it’s] something always negative.”

For those looking for healthier diets that are less damaging to the environment and animals, there are many different choices, including veganism and vegetarianism. Many nutritionists advocate pescetarianism, a mostly plant-based diet that includes fish; and flexitarianism, a plant-based diet that includes occasional meat and dairy products.

“Everything is on a continuum,” Bauersfeld said. “And that’s the beauty of this: you get to pick and choose, if you want to make those changes.”

Moderator: Luzita Pineda

Producer: Jose Duran

Anchor: Rosa Rodriguez

Social Media Editors: Adam Hajost, Arianna Takis and Lexi Wilson

Reporters: Jose Duran, Adam Hajost, Luzita Pineda, Rosa Rodriguez, Arianna Takis and Lexi Wilson

The number of farmers markets around the United States has grown in the past few years. CSUN has jumped on board with this new phenomenon, and has extended its contract to continue the weekly farmers market on campus for another year.

“The farmers market here on campus has been so successful with students that I’ve talked to,” Klotz Student Health Center registered dietitian Ellen Bauerfeld said. “They are running over there each Tuesday, and I would say about 90 percent of the students I see shop at the farmers market.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that 8,268 farmers markets were operating in the United States in 2014, up 180 percent since 2006.

“There are … farmers markets all over the United States,” said Marvin Halaby, owner of Upper Loveland Farms. “It’s popular everywhere, and  it’s not going to stop.”

Certain factors have contributed to the growing number of farmers markets in the United States. One is the desire to find a sense of community.

“Nobody wants to go to a store anymore and buy a wax apple,” Halaby said. “They want to be in a farmers market environment with their families on a nice day.”

“What you’re looking at is the return of the ‘agri-culture’, the culture that was wrapped up in this [kind of community], that we left in World War II,” L.A Kitchen founder and president Robert Egger said. “An army, for the first time in the world, came home and didn’t go back to the farm. Their grandchildren are now trying to turn the ship around, and find their way back. It’s a really amazing time.”

Another factor is the desire to support local farmers and businesses.

Sales at farmers markets were slightly over $1 billion annually, according to the USDA National Farmer Market Managers Survey.

“For a lot of consumers, local is what they’re looking for,” Egger said. ”This ties into supporting the local economy and supporting the local farmers.”

Many people have become more conscious of what they eat, but experts say it might not be so easy for everyone to start to eating organic produce.

“As a whole, most people don’t want to change their eating habits,” Bauerfield said. “It takes work and it takes commitment.”

“Salt and sugar is crack,” Egger said, “and we’ve  been literally addicted…I defy you to put those Doritos chips away at eleven o’clock at night. That’s by design; there is an addictive quality. We kind of act like it’s a personal choice, [but] it’s harder than hard; these are like cigarettes and we’ve been raised to eat this way.”

Halaby said farmers markets make healthy food affordable for people from all economic backgrounds. Many vendors accept Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, allowing eligible recipients to use benefits to buy produce.

“It makes it easier for people to come out and use their EBT cards,” he said. “They are able to buy good fruit and vegetables for their families….We try to educate a lot of our customers, and keep them educated, so they can pass [information about nutrition] off to their young ones.”

Bauerfeld said farmers markets have been making a positive impact, especially among younger people, and are here to stay.

“I don’t think it’s a fad,” she said. “I do think it’s a trend, and I think it’s just the beginning of the local food movement. I do see that this population, our students’ population, is craving something different. They’re looking for something different besides fast food, and they are looking for more than just a drive through.”

“More and more, you’re seeing young men and women coming onto campus with a greater palate and a greater expectation of what they want to eat,” Egger said. “Don’t occupy Wall Street; occupy your refrigerator.”

Moderator: AJ Romero

Producer: Rosanna Siracusa

Anchor: Evan Mederos

Reporters: Cyndy Alvarado and Sharon Shin

Social Media Editors: Precious Allen and Kelly Hernandez

Body pain, runny nose, fever and coughing  — that’s how most Americans describe the flu to their bosses and their teachers when they are calling in sick.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu virus can start as early as October, hit its peak around January, and last until May.

Experts report that just this year alone, some 200 Californians have died due to the N1H1 virus, and about 36,000 Americans total die from the flu each year. Still, for some reason people hesitate when it comes to getting a flu vaccine.

“The vaccine works by triggering your antibodies’ response,” said Professor Jack Sahl, from UCLA’s Department of Epidemiology. “The vaccine pre-primes the pump, if you would, so that your body is able to respond when faced with the actual disease.”

Every flu season requires a different vaccine, said CSUN Health Sciences Professor Sloane Burke. “Basically a team of researchers looks at the top viruses and they can predict what will be the top virus that needs to go into that vaccine.”

The flu vaccination causes that year’s antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after a person gets vaccinated. Those antibodies then provide protection against that year’s influenza infection.

The most common misconception holding people back from rolling up their sleeves to get the shot, is that the vaccine itself will make them sick.

“It’s actually entirely a myth,” Burke said. “Now, you may have a different strain of the flu, or you may have a different bacterial infection all together,” but the doctors agree that any symptoms people feel after getting a flu shot are a coincidence.

“You go in and say, hey I’m going to get the flu vaccine,” Sahl said, “and then you get the flu vaccine, and now you are really focused on signs and symptoms, and you may just have a runny nose or other types of infection, but in your mind you’ve added the two things together.”

Sahl added that if someone already has the flu, getting the flu shot will not help, but both doctors said it was not too late to get a shot to protect against this year’s virus.

The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for anyone age six months and older.

“We are all susceptible to the flu,” Burke said. “Even a younger, healthy, thriving population is susceptible.”

CSUN’s Klotz Health Center provides vaccinations to students, and the CDC offers a free application for finding the closest flu vaccination center.

Producer: Jennifer Rufer

Moderator: Dylan Connolly

Anchor: Evanne Robinson

Reporters: Esmi Careaga, Alex Milojkovich and Natalie Palacios