A drive-thru clinic will be offered from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Schneck Professional Building parking garage, Level 4, at the hospital, 411 W. Tipton St., Seymour.
Mondee Scifres, a registered nurse at the Jackson County Health Department in Seymour, administers a flu shot to co-worker Paul Ramsey in 2018.
Tribune file photo
Officials with the Jackson County Health Department and Schneck Medical Center are encouraging the public to get flu vaccinations this month.
Schneck Primary Care is making getting a flu vaccine easier by hosting a drive-thru clinic this weekend. Care providers administer the vaccine while you stay in your car.
The clinic will be offered from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Schneck Professional Building parking garage, Level 4, at the hospital, 411 W. Tipton St., Seymour.
The vaccine is available in regular dose and high dose for those ages 65 and older. The cost of the flu vaccine is covered by most insurance plans or self-pay.
The vaccines will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, call 812-522-1613.
The Jackson County Health Department, 801 W. Second St., Seymour, is offering seasonal flu vaccinations in the clinic by appointment only by calling 812-522-6667.
Rachel White, practice manager for Schneck Primary/Urgent Care who helps organize the drive-thru and regular clinics at Schneck, said there were patients with the flu last year, just nowhere near the numbers they normally see.
“Last year was pretty much all COVID, but this year, we are already beginning to see cases of the flu, which is a change from what we experienced last year,” White said. “We’re seeing both Type A and Type B influenza in our community at this point.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, human influenza A and B viruses cause seasonal epidemics of disease (known as the flu season) almost every winter in the United States.
Influenza A viruses are the only influenza viruses known to cause flu pandemics, which can occur when a new and very different influenza A virus emerges that both infects people and has the ability to spread efficiently between people.
Influenza Type B is similar to Type A, as it also is highly contagious and can have dangerous effects on health in more severe cases; however, this form can only be spread from human to human. Type B influenza can cause seasonal outbreaks and be transferred throughout the year.
Influenza Type C is the mildest version of the flu. If infected, symptoms will not be as damaging, according to healthline.com.
“Last year, we were running pretty neck and neck with the two clinics we’ve already completed this year,” White said. “We usually give between 150 and 200 doses at each of the clinics, and we’ve done pretty much that same thing this year.”
She said it seems like Schneck gave more flu vaccinations last year, but there is still the last drive-thru clinic coming up Saturday.
The CDC recommends that once a health facility receives flu shots, it can start giving the vaccinations to patients.
“We’ve been giving them in the office since late August, but October is a good time to get one because you want to consider how long that vaccine is going to stay in your system,” White said. “You need a new flu shot every year, and typically, the peak is around late January, early February, so you want to have it good and strong in your system with the vaccine during that time frame, so October is a great time to get your flu shot and get your immune system pumped up.”
Influenza is a contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract. It is spread by respiratory droplets released when infected people cough or sneeze nearby or when people touch surfaces or objects contaminated with those infectious respiratory droplets.
People also may become infected by touching surfaces or objects contaminated with influenza virus and then touching their eyes, mouth or nose.
There are many reasons why getting the annual flu vaccine is recommended for anyone 6 months or older.
The CDC says the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against the flu and its potentially serious complications.
Getting vaccinated also may protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people and people with certain chronic health conditions.
For a summary of the benefits of flu vaccination and selected scientific studies that support the benefits, visit cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccine-benefits.htm.
Despite the many benefits offered by flu vaccination, only about half of Americans get an annual flu vaccine, and flu continues to cause millions of illnesses, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths.