Flu Shots

There are many reasons to get an influenza (flu) vaccine each year. Because of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, getting a flu vaccine during 2020-2021 will be more important than ever. Flu vaccines will not prevent COVID-19, but they will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths on the health care system and conserve scarce medical resources for the care of people with COVID-19. Below is a summary of the benefits of flu vaccination and selected scientific studies that support these benefits:

Flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick with flu.

Flu vaccine prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year. For example, during 2019-2020, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations, and 6,300 influenza-associated deaths.
During seasons when the flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40 percent to 60 percent.

Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization for children, working age adults, and older adults.

Flu vaccine prevents tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year. For example, during 2019-2020
 flu vaccination prevented an estimated 105,000 flu-related hospitalizations.

A 2014 study showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74% during flu seasons from 2010-2012.

In recent years, flu vaccines have reduced the risk of flu-associated hospitalizations among older adults on average by about 40%.

A 2018 study showed that from 2012 to 2015, flu vaccination among adults reduced the risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with flu by 82 percent.

Flu vaccination is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions.

Flu vaccination has been associated with
 lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who had had a cardiac event in the past year.

Flu vaccination can reduce worsening and hospitalization for flu-related chronic lung disease, such as in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Flu vaccination also has been shown in separate studies to be associated with reduced hospitalizations among people with diabetes and chronic lung disease.

Many people at higher risk from flu also seem to be at higher risk from COVID-19.

Flu vaccination helps protect women during and after pregnancy.

Vaccination reduces the risk of flu-associated acute respiratory infection in pregnant women by about one-half.

A 2018 study that included influenza seasons from 2010-2016 showed that getting a flu shot reduced a pregnant woman’s risk of being hospitalized with flu by an average of 40 percent.

A number of studies have shown that in addition to helping to protect pregnant women, a flu vaccine given during pregnancy helps protect the baby from flu for several months after birth, when he or she is not old enough to be vaccinated.

Flu vaccine can be lifesaving in children.

A 2017 study was the first of its kind to show that flu vaccination can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from flu.

Flu vaccination has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.

A 2017 study showed that flu vaccination reduced deaths, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, ICU length of stay, and overall duration of hospitalization among hospitalized flu patients.

A 2018 study showed that among adults hospitalized with flu, vaccinated patients were 59 percent less likely to be admitted to the ICU than those who had not been vaccinated. Among adults in the ICU with flu, vaccinated patients on average spent 4 fewer days in the hospital than those who were not vaccinated.

*References for the studies listed above can be found at Publications on Influenza Vaccine Benefits. Also, see the A Strong Defense Against Flu: Get Vaccinated! fact sheet.

Starting September 1st, your child can receive their flu shot at a wellness check or at one our Drive Thru Flu Clinics.

Use the button below to schedule an appointment for your child or reserve a time slot during one of our Drive Thru Flu Clinics on September 11th, September 25th, or October 9th.

Absolutely! Parents can get their flu shot during one of our Drive Thru Flu Clinics. A prepayment of $40 will need to be collected to reserve your flu shot.

Use the button below to reserve a time slot during one of our Drive Thru Flu Clinics on September 11th, September 25th, or October 9th. If one day fills out don’t worry! We have plenty of flu shots in stock for your family. 

Our Electronic Health Record system is rolling out improved on-line scheduling capability.  If the link doesn’t work for whatever reason, please give us a call and we’d be happy to book your appointment personally.

Yes, flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time.

However, for our drive-thru events we need to limit vaccines to one per event.  The 9/11, 9/25 and 10/9 events will be for INFLUENZA ONLY.  We DO vaccinate against COVID in drive-thru events during the week.

Children who are receiving their first ever influenza vaccine will likely need a second vaccine at least 4 weeks apart.  Your doctor will discuss this with you at their next Wellness Check if this is the case.

Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are used to make the vaccine.

The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Most flu vaccines in the United States protect against four different flu viruses (“quadrivalent”); an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus, and two influenza B viruses. There are also some flu vaccines that protect against three different flu viruses (“trivalent”); an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus, and one influenza B virus. Two of the trivalent vaccines are designed specifically for people 65 and older to create a stronger immune response.

You should get a flu vaccine before flu viruses begin spreading in your community, since it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against flu. Make plans to get vaccinated early in fall, before flu season begins. CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October. However, getting vaccinated early (for example, in July or August) is likely to be associated with reduced protection against flu infection later in the flu season, particularly among older adults. Vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later. Children who need two doses of vaccine to be protected should start the vaccination process sooner, because the two doses must be given at least four weeks apart.

A flu vaccine is needed every season for two reasons. First, a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time, so an annual vaccine is needed for optimal protection. Second, because flu viruses are constantly changing, flu vaccines may be updated from one season to the next to protect against the viruses that research suggests may be most common during the upcoming flu season. For the best protection, everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated annually.

No. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. That’s why it’s best to get vaccinated before influenza viruses start to spread in your community.

No, a flu vaccine cannot cause flu illness. Flu vaccines that are administered with a needle (flu shots) are currently made in two ways: the vaccine is made either with a) flu vaccine viruses that have been killed (inactivated) and are therefore not infectious, or b) with proteins from a flu vaccine virus instead of flu vaccine viruses (which is the case for recombinant influenza vaccine). Nasal spray vaccine is made with attenuated (weakened) live flu viruses, and also cannot cause flu illness. The weakened viruses are cold-adapted, which means they are designed to only cause infection at the cooler temperatures found within the nose. The viruses cannot infect the lungs or other areas where warmer temperatures exist.

While a flu vaccine cannot give you flu illness, there are different side effects that may be associated with getting a flu shot or a nasal spray flu vaccine. These side effects are mild and short-lasting, especially when compared to symptoms of bad case of flu.

A flu shot: The viruses in a flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects that may occur are:

• Soreness, redness, and/or swelling where the shot was given
  
• Headache (low grade)
  
• Fever
  
• Muscle aches
  
• Nausea
  
• Fatigue

If these problems occur, they begin soon after vaccination and usually are mild and short-lived. A flu shot, like other injections, can occasionally cause fainting. Tell your provider if you feel dizzy or have vision changes or ringing in the ears. As with any medicine, there is a very remote chance of a vaccine causing a severe allergic reaction, other serious injury, or death. People who think that they have been injured by a flu vaccine can file a claim for compensation from the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).