Category: Flu Vaccine

Clinics across Tayside and Fife begin delivering autumn/winter Covid and flu vaccines today.

An estimated 240,000 people in Tayside and 175,000 in Fife are currently eligible for a booster vaccine in the coming months.

But who will receive a Covid booster vaccine this autumn?

What are the vaccines on offer for the booster jab?

And whats happening with the flu vaccine?

Were answering all your questions about the autumn/winter Covid booster vaccine programme.

Following advice on the winter Covid-19 booster programme from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), those eligible for a booster this autumn are:

Those who are eligible for a booster should wait to be contacted or called forward for it.

Elderly care home residents are among the first to receive the jab.

Invitations will have been sent to all over 65s by the end of the week.

Anyone under 65 will be notified about their appointment in due course.

Frontline health and social care workers can now book appointments through the online portal.

Vaccine clinics will be operating locally throughout Tayside and Fife. The location of your vaccine clinic will be included on your appointment letter.

Last month it was announced a new Covid vaccine has been approved for use as part of Scotlands autumn/winter booster programme.

The new Moderna mRNA bivalent Omicron BA.1/Original wild-type vaccine has been approved for use in anyone aged 18 and older.

It targets both the original version of Covid and the Omicron BA.1 variant, which first emerged in South Africa in November 2021.

Doses of the new dual vaccine will be distributed in Scotland. However, it is not currently known how many will be allocated to Scotland.

Some receiving a booster this year will get the original Moderna vaccine or Pfizer. Novavax may be used when no alternative is available.

Those eligible for a Covid booster and the flu vaccine will receive both jabs at the same time, wherever possible.

More information for those who usually get a flu vaccine but are not currently eligible for a Covid booster vaccine will be given in due course.

Already a subscriber? Sign in

The rest is here:

All you need to know about autumn/winter Covid boosters and flu vaccines in Tayside and Fife - The Courier

Espaol

While the U.S. remains focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to also be aware of flu season. Influenza (flu) viruses typically spread in fall and winter, with activity peaking between December and February. Getting vaccinated now can lower your chances of getting the flu.

Flu is a serious disease, caused by influenza viruses, that can lead to hospitalization and even death. Every flu season is different, and the substantial health impacts can vary widely from season to season, with some flu seasons being worse than others. Your best defense is vaccination, which provides protection from flu and its potential complications.

The flu vaccines are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prevent flu, and they provide important benefits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that during the 2019-20 flu season:

Vaccination prevented more than 7 million flu illnesses, 105,000 hospitalizations, and 6,300 flu-related deaths, according to the CDC.

Its likely that flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 will circulate together in fall and winter. The flu vaccine does not prevent COVID-19. The FDA has approved two vaccines for the prevention of COVID-19 and issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for others. For the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines, visit this FDA page.

Meanwhile, the flu vaccines are approved by the FDA for the prevention of influenza disease and to protect against four different virus strains of influenza. Getting vaccinated to prevent this disease can help keep you out of the doctors office for a sick visit and preserve health care resources for patients with other diseases and medical conditions, including COVID-19.

The FDA plays a key role in ensuring that safe and effective flu vaccines are available every flu season. Flu viruses are spread by droplets when people infected with the flu cough, sneeze, or talk. Flu may also be spread when a person touches a surface or object that has flu viruses on it and then touches their own mouth, nose, or eyes.

The CDC recommends that adults and children older than 6 months get a flu vaccine by the end of October. Even if you wait until after October, go get your flu vaccine. Its still beneficial because it can help protect you for the remainder of the flu season. For more information on flu vaccine recommendations, visit this CDC page.

If you have already been sick with the flu this season without getting vaccinated, getting a flu vaccine is still important because it helps prevent disease caused by four different strains of flu viruses. Presumably, you were infected with one type of flu virus strain, so the vaccine would offer protection against the strains that you havent already had.

Flu seasons and their severity are unpredictable. Annual vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza in people ages 6 months and older.

An annual vaccination to prevent flu is the best way to reduce the risk of getting the flu and spreading it to others. When more people get vaccinated, it is less likely that the flu viruses will spread through a community.

The vaccine typically changes each year and contains the four flu virus strains that are expected to circulate in the U.S. during the upcoming flu season. The effectiveness of influenza vaccines varies depending on several factors, such as the age and health of the recipient, the types of circulating influenza viruses, and the degree of similarity between circulating viruses and those included in the vaccine.

The task of producing a new vaccine for the next flu season starts well before the current season ends. For the FDA, its a year-round initiative.

The flu vaccine will trigger your immune system to produce antibodies to protect against influenza disease it will not make you sick with the flu. It can take about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body, which is an important reason to get your flu vaccine early, before flu activity starts.

There are several reasons a new flu vaccine must be made each year.

Flu viruses can change from year to year, so the vaccine is updated to protect against new virus strains that are expected to circulate in the U.S. The vaccine needs to include influenza virus strains that most closely match those in circulation for the influenza season. In addition, the protection provided by the flu vaccine a person received in the previous year will diminish over time and may be too low to prevent influenza disease into next years flu season.

Typically, children and older people are most at risk of getting sick with influenza. The best way to protect babies who are too young to be vaccinated is to make sure people around them are vaccinated. Occasionally, a flu virus will circulate that disproportionately affects young and middle-ageadults.

You also can reduce the spread of the flu and its effects by taking such practical measures as washing your hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home when youre sick.

The FDA has approved numerous vaccines for the prevention of influenza. But if you do get the flu, there are FDA-approved antiviral drugs, available by prescription, to treat your illness. There are several FDA-approved antiviral drugs recommended by the CDC for use against circulating influenza viruses. These drugs work best if started soon after the onset of symptoms (within 48 hours).

Every year, in late February or early March, before that years flu season ends, the FDA, the World Health Organization (WHO), the CDC, and other public health experts collaborate on collecting and reviewing data from around the world to identify the flu viruses likely to cause the most illnesses during the next flu season.

Following that process, the FDA convenes its vaccines advisory committee, consisting of outside experts, to discuss the WHO recommendations and to consider which flu viruses are expected to circulate in the U.S. The committee also reviews data about which flu viruses have caused illnesses in the past year, how the viruses are changing, and disease trends for the U.S. The FDA takes that information into account before it selects the virus strains for FDA-licensed manufacturers to include in their vaccines for use in the U.S.

The closer the match between the virus strains chosen for the vaccine and the circulating strains causing disease during flu season, the better the protection that the flu vaccine provides. Although the vaccine and viruses may not be an exact match in some years, that does not mean the vaccine is not benefiting people. Available data show that the vaccine can reduce the severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.

To ensure that the flu vaccine is safe, effective, and of high quality, the FDA prepares and provides reagents (materials to standardize vaccines) to manufacturers that they need to make their vaccine and to verify its identity and potency. The FDA also inspects manufacturing facilities regularly and evaluates each manufacturers vaccine annually before it can be approved.

The FDAs oversight doesnt end there. After manufacturers have distributed their vaccines for use by the public, the FDA and CDC work together to routinely evaluate reports of adverse events following vaccination submitted by vaccine manufacturers, health care providers and vaccine recipients (or their parents/guardians) to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Additional efforts are in place to monitor vaccine safety. The FDA partners with private organizations that collect health care data (such as health insurance companies) and other federal agencies (such as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Veterans Health Administration and CDC) to further evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the influenza vaccines and other vaccines that the FDA has approved or authorized for emergency use.

The Biologics Effectiveness and Safety (BEST) Initiative is one of the programs the FDA utilizes to assess vaccine safety and effectiveness in real-world conditions, reflecting patient care and the real-world use of the influenza vaccine and other vaccines in the U.S. In addition, the CDC maintains the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) program, which evaluates the vaccinessafety similar to the BEST Initiative. VSD receives its data from nine integrated health care organizations in the U.S.

More:

Its a Good Time to Get Your Flu Vaccine | FDA

Flu shot: Your best bet for avoiding influenza

Getting a flu shot will often protect you from coming down with the flu. And although the flu shot doesn't always provide total protection, it's worth getting.

This year's annual flu shot will offer protection against four of the influenza viruses expected to be in circulation this flu season. High-dose flu vaccines will be available for adults age 65 and older, but these may not be available at all medical centers.

Influenza is a respiratory infection that can cause serious complications, particularly in young children, older adults and people with certain medical conditions. Getting an influenza vaccine though not 100% effective is the best way to prevent the misery of the flu and its complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends annual flu vaccination for everyone age 6 months or older.

Here are the answers to common questions about flu shots:

Private manufacturers make the flu vaccine and take about six months to produce it. The availability of the flu vaccine depends on when production is completed. But generally, shipments begin sometime in August in the United States. Doctors and nurses may begin vaccinating people as soon as the flu vaccine is available in their areas.

It takes up to two weeks to build immunity after a flu shot, but you can benefit from the vaccine even if you don't get it until after the flu season starts. It's usually best for people in the United States to get their flu vaccine in September and October, and aim to get it by the end of October. However, you can still protect yourself against late flu outbreaks if you get the vaccine in February or later.

Because flu viruses evolve so quickly, last year's vaccine may not protect you from this year's viruses. New flu vaccines are released every year to keep up with rapidly adapting flu viruses.

When you get vaccinated, your immune system produces antibodies to protect you from the viruses included in the vaccine. But antibody levels may decline over time another reason to get a flu shot every year.

The CDC recommends annual influenza vaccinations for everyone age 6 months or older. Vaccination is especially important for people at high risk of influenza complications, including:

Children between 6 months and 8 years may need two doses of the flu vaccine, given at least four weeks apart, the first time they are given a flu vaccine. After that, they can receive single annual doses of the flu vaccine. A 2017 study showed that the vaccine significantly reduces a child's risk of dying of the flu. Check with your child's doctor.

Chronic medical conditions also can increase your risk of influenza complications. Examples include:

Anyone with a chronic medical condition should get the flu vaccine. Also, people living in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities should get the flu vaccine.

Check with your doctor before receiving a flu vaccine if:

If you have an egg allergy, you can still receive the flu vaccine.

The flu vaccine will be available as an injection or as a nasal spray.

The nasal spray vaccine is approved for people between 2 and 49 years old.

The nasal flu vaccine isn't recommended for some people, including:

There are other groups advised to be cautious about the use of a nasal spray flu vaccine, such as people with certain chronic medical conditions. Check with your doctor to see if you need to be cautious about getting a nasal spray flu vaccine.

The flu vaccine can also be delivered by an injection that's usually given in a muscle in the arm. If you're an adult under 65, you may also choose an in-the-skin (intradermal) vaccine, or you may prefer to have your vaccine delivered using a jet injector device, which uses a high-pressure, narrow stream of fluid to penetrate the skin instead of a needle.

No. The flu vaccine can't give you the flu. It also does not increase your risk of COVID-19. But you might develop flu-like symptoms despite getting a flu vaccine for a variety of reasons, including:

How well the flu vaccine works to protect you from the flu can vary. The flu vaccine is generally more effective among people under 65 years old. Some older people and people with certain medical conditions may develop less immunity after receiving a flu shot.

Reviews of past studies have found that the flu vaccine is about 50% to 60% effective for healthy adults who are between 18 and 64 years old. The vaccine may sometimes be less effective.

Even when the vaccine doesn't completely prevent the flu, it may lessen the severity of your illness, and reduce the risk of serious complications and serious illness requiring hospitalization.

The flu vaccine does not prevent you from getting COVID-19. However, it's especially important to get the flu vaccine this season because the flu and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cause similar symptoms. Flu vaccination could reduce symptoms that might be confused with those caused by COVID-19. Preventing the flu and reducing the severity of flu illness and hospitalizations could also decrease the number of people needing to stay in the hospital.

It also may be possible to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as your flu vaccine.

The flu vaccine is your best defense against the flu, but there are additional steps you can take to help protect yourself from the flu and other viruses, including COVID-19. These steps include the following:

If you become sick with the flu, you can also help prevent the spread of the flu by staying home and away from others. Continue staying home until your fever has been gone for at least 24 hours.

Both COVID-19 and the flu may be spreading at the same time. Your local health department and the CDC may suggest other precautions to reduce your risk of COVID-19 or the flu if you haven't been fully vaccinated. For example, you may need to practice social distancing (physical distancing) and stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) from others outside your household. You may also need to wear a cloth face mask when around people outside your household when indoors and when outdoors in crowded areas. If you're fully vaccinated and are in an area with a high number of new COVID-19 cases in the last week, the CDC also recommends wearing a mask indoors in public and outdoors in crowded areas or when you're in close contact with unvaccinated people.

Getting your flu vaccine can reduce your risk of the flu and its complications, and following these precautions can help protect you from the flu or other respiratory illnesses.

Mayo Clinic offers flu shots in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.

Track the COVID-19 hot spots.

See coronavirus cases and forecasts

Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Subscribe!

Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Please, try again in a couple of minutes

Retry

.

Read this article:

Flu shot: Your best bet for avoiding influenza - Mayo Clinic

With the novel coronavirus continuing to circulate and cause severe illness in the United States and worldwide, getting a flu shot is once again more important than ever. The 202122 influenza season will coincide with the continued circulation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, so start planning now.

Common signs and symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., dyspnea, fever, and cough) can also occur with influenza, which is one of the many reasons why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone six months and older receive a flu shot. Influenza vaccines provide the best protection against the flu and its potentially serious complications. Furthermore, getting the jab will decrease the prevalence of the flu as well as reduce symptoms that might be confused with those of COVID-19. Make sure your practice is prepared for the flux of injections by updating your billing systems with the 2021 Average Sales Price (ASP) Drug Pricing Files and reading the latest vaccination guidance.

CPT coding for vaccinations involves two codes, one for the vaccine and one for its administration.The table below breaks down the vaccine codes and payment allowances for the 2021-2022 season. These payment allowances are effective Aug. 1, 2021, through July 31, 2022. Download the2021 Average Sales Price (ASP) Drug Pricing Filesfor up-to-date pricing information on all Medicare Part B drugs.

The Medicare Part B payment allowance limits for seasonal influenza vaccines are 95 percent of the Average Wholesale Price (AWP). Payment for the vaccine is based on reasonable cost when the job is furnished in a hospital outpatient department.

Medicare pays for one seasonal influenza virus vaccination perinfluenza season. Annual Part B deductible and coinsurance amounts do not apply for influenza vaccinations. All physicians, non-physician practitioners, and suppliers who administer these vaccines must take assignment on the claim for the vaccine.

When reporting vaccination encounters, use ICD-10-CM diagnosis code Z23 Encounter for immunization. For Medicare, code the administration of the flu shot with G0008 Administration of influenza virus vaccine.

Most vaccines are given as injections and are reported to non-Medicare payers with administration codes

But there are a few oral and intranasal vaccines that are reported using administration codes 90473 and 90474. Only use 90471-90474 when immunization is not accompanied by face-to-face counseling of the patient/family, or for vaccine administration to patients over 18 years of age.

Pediatric vaccine administration with counseling codes are:

Routine annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged 6 months who do not have contraindications, per the CDC. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also recommends annual influenza immunization of all children without medical contraindications, starting at 6 months of age.

Influenza vaccination is an important intervention to protect vulnerable populations and reduce the burden of respiratory illnesses during circulation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which is expected to continue during the 20212022 influenza season. -AAP

AAP maintains that any licensed, age-appropriate vaccine is acceptable; they do not have a preference for one product or formulation over another. Notably, the AAP clarifies that the flu jab may be administered simultaneously with or any time before or after administration of the currently available novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

All seasonal influenza vaccines expected to be available for the 20212022 season are quadrivalent, containing hemagglutinin (HA) derived from one influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus, one influenza A(H3N2) virus, one influenza B/Victoria lineage virus, and one influenza B/Yamagata lineage virus.

For the 202122 season, U.S.-licensed influenza vaccines will contain:

Get more information regardingCDC recommendationsfor prevention and control of seasonal influenza and answers to frequently asked questions about the 2021-2022 flu season.

For further clarification, see the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding prevention and control of seasonal influenza with vaccines.

Stacy Chaplain, MD, CPC, is a development editor at AAPC. She has worked in medicine for more than 20 years, with an emphasis on education, writing, and editing since 2015. Chaplain received her Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Texas at Austin and her doctorate in medicine from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She is a member of the Beaverton, Ore., local chapter.

See the original post here:

Update: 2021-2022 Flu Vaccine Information - AAPC Knowledge Center

The fall 2022 flu season may arrive early. The best way to protect yourself is to get a flu vaccine. Photo: Getty Images.

The fall 2022 flu season may hit early and hard this year, so its best to get your flu vaccine as soon as possible.

To prepare for the upcoming fall and winter flu season, U.S. medical experts keep a close eye on how the flu season played out in the southern hemisphere during their recent fall and winter (from about April through August of this year).

And data from Australia point to a possible rough, early flu season in the northern hemisphere.

Dr. Michelle Barron is one of the top infectious disease experts in Colorado. Shes urging people to get their flu vaccines relatively early this fall.

Every year, we try to guess when the flu is going to hit and when we should get our vaccines. Some people wait to get their flu shot until right before Thanksgiving in case theyll be traveling over the holidays, said Barron, UCHealths senior medical director of infection prevention and control. Based on what were seeing in the southern hemisphere, thats not the best plan this year.

Her advice: Dont wait. Get your flu shot as soon as its available.

Barron reminds people that it takes about two weeks after you get your flu shot for the vaccine to fully go into effect.

Getting your flu shot relatively early this year in September or October is the best way to brace yourself for what could be an early, virulent flu season.

The flu vaccine will protect you for four to six months. If youre a little off on your timing, thats fine. Its best to be early this year. If you get your shot too late, it just means youre more at risk of getting the flu, said Barron, who is also a professorat theUniversity of Colorado School of Medicineon theAnschutz Medical Campus.

We consulted with Barron about how the flu season played out in Australia and what could happen during the fall and winter months in the U.S. She also answered some frequently asked questions about the flu and how COVID-19 may affect the flu season.

We wont really know until it hits us, Barron said. I would love for us to change the course of the flu this year. If we get enough people vaccinated and were smart, maybe we can do that. But we wont know exactly what happens with the flu until it starts to spread.

Its very difficult to predict exactly how this years flu season will play out, Barron said. But, the best indication of what could happen here is to look at what happened with flu cases in the southern hemisphere. So, Barron keeps close tabs on reports from Australian infectious disease experts.

And in the southern hemisphere, the flu hit early and hard this year. Its more typical for flu cases to peak between July and September in Australia. This year, they began climbing in April and peaked at very high levels in May and June. (Please see the chart below from Australian health officials.)

This year, Australian health officials saw a larger spike of flu cases than they had in several years.

If you look at the COVID-19 years, flu cases rarely hit the radar. But if you look at the slope of the curve in Australia and how quickly people got sick, it took off fast, Barron said.

Their peak was early. Thats comparable to November and December here (when cases typically peak in the U.S. in January and February). Thats what Im worried about, Barron said.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced cases of the flu around the world. Stay-at-home measures and interventions like masking and social distancing, reduced cases of COVID-19 and also prevented the spread of the flu. So, in both 2020 and 2021, flu cases were much lower than in typical years. Now, as people are resuming their normal activities and few are taking precautions like wearing masks regularly, the flu can spread more easily.

In addition, our bodies immune systems arent used to fighting the flu, so we may be more vulnerable this fall and winter, Barron said.

We havent had exposure for two years, so when it comes to flu, our immune systems arent revved up and ready to go, Barron said.

She uses the analogy of running.

If youre training for a marathon, its time to start running again. You cant rest on your laurels, like your fitness in the past. Its time to log some miles and get your immune system up and ready again because the flu is coming, Barron said.

Yes. Its perfectly safe to get both shots at the same time, Barron said. And thats really convenient. Many people will want to do exactly that in September and October of this year. If everyone who is eligible gets both a new flu and COVID-19 shot this fall, we could dramatically reduce severe cases of both flu and COVID-19 this fall and winter, Barron said.

Getting an annual flu and COVID vaccine could become our new normal, and in future years, the two vaccines could be combined into one vaccine.

Most medical facilities are getting flu shots now. Check with your doctors office or your employer and book an appointment soon.

The new COVID-19 booster shots that specifically fight the newest omicron variants recently have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Like flu shots, these new COVID-19 boosters should be available throughout the U.S. within days.

Barron advises people to get their flu shots as soon as possible, and definitely by October.

No vaccine is perfect. And flu vaccines are especially complex, Barron said. Thats because vaccine makers have to guess in advance which flu strains will be circulating later that year. Then they create a vaccine that they hope will fight the prevailing flu strains.

During some years, the flu vaccine works better than in other years.

But even when its not a perfect match, getting the flu vaccine can dramatically reduce hospitalizations and deaths from the flu.

It keeps you out of the hospital and it keeps you from dying, Barron said.

Thats why her advice is quite simple now: Get your flu vaccine.

This is probably going to be a bad flu year. Please protect yourselves, she said. For the past few years, weve been focused on COVID, COVID, COVID. But, we did see a surge of the flu in May of this year. Thats a preview of what could happen this fall and winter. A lot of people could get sick. The flu will be back.

The flu shot does not give you the flu. The shot does not contain live virus. As with any vaccine, there can be side effects, but those are normal, Barron said. If you get the flu after you get the flu shot, you were going to get it anyway. Thats just a case of bad timing and bad luck. The best way to avoid getting the flu is to get your flu shot as early as possible.

Yes. Theres a high dose flu shot for people over age 65. Its meant to give you an extra boost to your immune system, Barron said.

When you schedule your flu shot with your medical provider, if you are older, you should automatically get the specially-formulated shot for older adults. But, of course, its wise to ask about which type of flu shot you are getting.

Read this article:

Best plan for 2022 flu season? Get your flu shot early - UCHealth Today

County health departments across North Georgia will soon be administering drive-thru flu shots.District 2 Public Health announced this week that all 13 county health departments it oversees will offer the drive-thru clinics in the coming weeks (see schedule below).

Habersham Countys drive-thru flu clinic is scheduled from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Monday, October 3. White Countys is Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Cleveland Worship Center. Banks, Rabun, and Stephens are among the counties that have scheduled at least two clinics one each in October and November (see schedule below).

Emergency Preparedness Director, Mark Palen, encourages the public to take advantage of the service.

Not only does this help our citizens get flu shots easily, but it also serves as an important emergency preparedness medical countermeasures exercise for our public health nurses and health department staff, he says.(Source: District 2 Public Health)

According to the CDC, everyone 6 months and older should get a flu shot, it is especially important for those 55 years old and older, and persons with certain medical conditions who may experience more severe illness from the flu virus.

The quadrivalent vaccine (four-in-one) will serve as the regular flu vaccine and will protect against four different strains of flu, both A and B strains of the influenza viruses. The high-dose vaccine, which is also a quadrivalent vaccine, will be available for persons 65 and older.

The flu vaccine will be administered at no cost to those on Medicare, Medicaid, and most commercial insurances.

If an individual chooses to pay out of pocket, the cost is $30 for the regular flu vaccine and $66 for the high-dose.Click to enlarge (Source: District 2 Public Health)

Individuals who would like to receive their flu shot at drive-thru clinics must be 18 years old and older. We encourage residents to wear masks, says District 2 spokesperson Natasha Young.

For more information about your county flu shot drive-thru or to learn more about the different flu vaccine options visit the flu page on the District 2 Public Health website.

To learn more about the influenza virus and how to protect yourself from the flu visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu.

Continued here:

Drive-thru flu shots coming to a health department near you - Now Habersham

"Since so many have isolated and quarantined and been wearing masks for the last few seasons, we're expecting now that everybody's dropped their guard and returned to a normal lifestyle, that we might have an increase in the amount of flu cases this year," said Turba. "So vaccination is always important, but I think this year that we might have more exposure than we've had in the previous few years."

Continued here:

LECOM Hosts First Flu Vaccine Clinic of the Year, Warns of Upcoming Flu Season - erienewsnow.com

Over-75s are to be called forward for Covid and flu jabs from next week as the autumn boosters rollout gets under way.

More than four million people will be able to start booking jabs as the national booking service opens to the most vulnerable.

From Monday, care home residents, staff and people and who are housebound will be offered top-up jabs. By Wednesday, millions more elderly people will receive invitations to book a vaccination.

Covid booster jabs are being offered to around 26 million people, including all over-50s, this autumn. For most, it will be their fourth dose.

The vaccines will also be offered to health and care workers and millions of people with chronic health conditions. In most cases, they will be offered alongside flu jabs.

Health officials said the NHS would contact those eligible when it is time to book in, with millions expected to receive invitations this week. A record 3,100 sites are expected to be part of the rollout, including GP practices and community pharmacies.

The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) has said Modernas new omicron vaccine will be the default option throughout the autumn campaign.

Moderna estimates that 13 million doses of the vaccine will be available this year, but 26 million people are eligible for some form of Covid booster along with a flu jab.

But health officials have urged those eligible to accept any booster offered, stressing that all types being offered provide excellent protection against severe disease and death.

The rollout comes as data suggests Covid infections in England are about to reach their lowest level since the emergence of omicron last autumn.

One in 60 people in England around 893,000 people are thought to have been infected with the virus for the week ending Aug 23, a prevalence of 1.64 per cent.

This is down more than a quarter from the week before and infections have now been declining for five straight weeks, down an average of 22 per cent week-on-week. At this rate, the level of Covid across the country will drop to just 1.28 per cent next week the lowest level since mid-September 2021.

However, health chiefs said they expect a resurgence of both Covid and flu in the coming weeks.

Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, said: The best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones from serious illness is to get the newly approved, next generation Covid vaccine when invited to do so, as well as your annual flu jab, to ensure you have maximum protection.

GPs will be paid up to 525 per care home jabbed under new NHS incentives. Previously, family doctors received rates of up to 30 per jab, on top of a basic 13 rate, for vaccinating each care home resident.

The new flat rate will be paid out when all eligible residents have been jabbed. The payments mean GPs can receive 525 for vaccinating more than 150 residents, falling to 150 for a home with fewer than 10 eligible people.

More here:

Over-75s to be called for Covid and flu vaccinations from next week - The Telegraph

Elementary students can enjoy free admission to the River Bandits vs. Peoria Chiefs game on Thursday, Sept. 6 if they also get a free flu shot at the ballpark gates.

DAVENPORT, Iowa Editor's note: The video above is from Jan. 5.

The Quad Cities River Bandits are teaming up with Genesis Health to offer kids a free night at the baseball diamond if they get vaccinated against the flu.

Genesis is kicking off its annual Flu-Free Quad Cities campaign at Modern Woodmen Park on Thursday, Sept. 6 with a vaccine clinic outside the ballpark gates at the River Bandits' 6:30 p.m. home game against the Peoria Chiefs.

Starting at 5 p.m., nurses will be stationed outside the park, ready to offer flu shots to elementary school students. Parental consent forms can be found online or on paper at the clinic.

Any elementary student who gets a flu shot at the clinic will get a free ticket to the game when the gates open at 5:45 p.m.

"The pandemic has shown the world how important it is to get immunized," River Bandits owner Dave Heller said. "All of us with the River Bandits family want to do all we can to support children's health and keep our community safe, and that starts with a flu shot. That's why we're providing free tickets to that night's game to every child who gets a flu shot. That's a real win-win: the kids get huge fun at the ballpark and we get to keep our kids healthy and the Quad Cities strong all winter long!"

Heller will also be presenting a $50,000 check to Genesis to benefit three of its child-focused causes: Flu-Free Quad Cities, the Genesis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Camp Genesis.

Genesis Health says that a recent spike of flu cases in the Southern Hemisphere could lead to a level of flu activity the world hasn't seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

We still have community transmission of COVID-19, so theres the potential for serious complications from having seasonal influenza and COVID-19 at the same time or one after the other, Michele Cullen, RN, BSN, and community health manager of the Genesis Visiting Nurses said. Over the last two years, we experienced a huge drop in flu cases across the nation, due in part to COVID precautions like masking, handwashing and social distancing. We want to see that reduction in flu cases continue.

Flu-Free Quad Cities is a program funded completely by charity, and donations can be made on the program's website or by texting FFQC to 41444.

Watch more news, weather and sports on News 8's YouTube channel

Original post:

Annual 'Flu-Free QC' campaign kicks of with free flu shots, Bandits tickets for elementary students - WQAD Moline

As flu season approaches, Cleveland Clinic is offering appointment-only flu vaccinations at locations across Northeast Ohio. Additional information can be found at http://www.clevelandclinic.org/flu

Patients can schedule an appointment by phone or online via MyChart. Patients can also receive the flu vaccine at most scheduled in-person office visits with a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant starting Sept. 1. In addition, patients can call their primary care physicians office to schedule a nurse flu vaccination appointment.

Every year thousands of people are hospitalized as a result of the flu. It is a highly contagious respiratory infection that should not be taken lightly, said Steven Gordon, M.D., chair of the Department of Infectious Disease at Cleveland Clinic.

Getting vaccinated each year is the best way to prevent the spread of influenza, and is the best way to keep ourselves and our communities healthy during flu season. The past two flu seasons have seen lighter influenza activity, but with the rolling back of pandemic precautions such as masking, its likely that this flu season may be more severe.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, its even more important to receive the flu vaccine to reduce your risk of the flu and to avoid a surge in hospitalizations. Influenza and COVID-19 can have similar symptoms, and in many cases, it may not be possible to tell the difference without being tested. Receiving yearly vaccination provides the best protection against the flu throughout the season.

Cleveland Clinic will still be offering the COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 5 years and older at Hillcrest Hospital and Fairview Hospital vaccination centers. Beginning Sept. 3, when patients present for their COVID-19 vaccination, they will also have the option to receive a flu vaccination. It is safe to be vaccinated for flu and COVID-19 at the same time. COVID-19 vaccinations are also offered at many scheduled primary care and specialty appointments.

Infectious disease experts recommend everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated for the flu every year.

The flu is contagious and can cause serious respiratory infection. The timing of seasonal flu activity is unpredictable and can vary, but most typically occurs between October and May and usually peaks between December and February. Hospitals are preparing for a heavier and earlier flu season this year.

Vaccination is especially important for people at high risk for developing flu complications, such as adults age 65 and older, pregnant women, people with chronic medical conditions, and children younger than 5.

The same precautions that protect against COVID-19 also will help protect from the flu proper hand hygiene, social distancing, staying home when sick and wearing masks. In addition, there are prescription antiviral medications that can be used to treat influenza illness.

Symptoms of the flu include fever, dry cough, headache, sore throat, chills, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite.

More here:

Cleveland Clinic Begins Appointment-Only Flu Vaccinations - Cleveland Clinic Newsroom