Genesee County Health Department
Better Life Through Better Health
Influenza
Vaccine Available
The peak influenza (flu)
season is rapidly approaching. All people,
including those who are healthy, should consider
getting the flu vaccine. The best time to receive
the flu vaccine is October through November,
although flu vaccine is also given through
January. The flu vaccine saves healthcare dollars
by keeping people healthy and preventing the need
for expensive therapies and hospitalizations. The
vaccine also helps reduce absences at work, school
and social events, and decreases the spread of
illness in the home, workplace and community.
There will be a $15.00 charge for the flu vaccine
at the Genesee County Health Department clinics.
Current Medicare card holders need to bring their
card to receive flu vaccine at no cost.
Pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccine will be available
for $25.00, and Tetanus-Diptheria vaccine for
$15.00. Log onto the Genesee County Health
Department’s web site at http://www.gchd.us
for updates on the clinic schedule.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
recommend the following groups receive the flu
vaccine first: all persons 50 years of age or
older, persons greater than 6 months of age with
chronic illness, healthy infants and children 6-23
months of age, employees and residents of
long-term care facilities, pregnant women, persons
6 months to 18 years of age receiving chronic
aspirin therapy, health care providers (including
home care), and household members of high-risk
persons. The Genesee County Health Department is
encouraging healthy people to wait until later in
the flu season to receive the vaccine. This is to
insure that those at highest risk of influenza
complications are vaccinated first.
The flu has been estimated to infect as many as
100 million people each year in the Northern
Hemisphere. While most healthy people fully
recover from the flu, the disease can result in
hospitalization or even death. Influenza, is
caused by viruses that infect the respiratory
tract and generally results in more severe illness
than other respiratory infections. Severe flu
epidemics in the United States have cost as much
as $10 billion, causing as many as 40,000 deaths
and 150,000 hospitalizations.
##END##
|
