Hudson woman helps hit flu shot world record at U of M

A Hudson woman recently helped the University of Minnesota earn a new world record for the number flu shots administered in a single day -- 11,810.

Maria Rudie of Hudson is the associate program director for health marketing and promotion at the school's Boynton Health Service. The U of M holds walk-in flu shot clinics annually and administers about 15,000 of the shots every year October through December. Rudie said her boss, Dave Golden, a former Hudson resident himself, heard that a hospital in Florida held the current record of 3,700 shots in one day.

"We were pretty sure we could beat that so we launched 'Guinness World Record Day.' Multiple sites were set up in and around the campus. We sent out a mass e-mail about it, and the campus really got into it. Everybody was jazzed to see how many shots we could give," said Rudie. The slogan for the event was "Do it for the herd."

Rudie said the health service will continue to give shots through December. They have a goal of 20,000 for the season. To date they have around 14,000, including the shots administered on record day. Rudie said to achieve the Guinness World Record requires an application and lots of proof. The school is submitting affidavits from the school administration and other documentation as well as photos and video of the event. The Guinness people are expected to certify the new record sometime next month.

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