Essentia Health offering flu vaccine

Description

Essentia Health is offering flu shots to the community in a variety of ways during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year might be the most important year for a flu shot ever,” explains Dr. Aaron Phillipps, an infectious disease specialist at Essentia Health. “Cold weather pushes us indoors and the close quarters allow for easier person-to-person transmission of respiratory viruses such as influenza and COVID-19. An outbreak of illness can over fill and overtax our hospitals. We have a vaccine against the flu that can help keep our cases down and keep our hospital beds available when they are needed.”

Dr. Phillipps also says, “the vaccine reduces your chances of getting the flu and if you don’t have the flu, you have no risk of transmission to others that may not have the ability to fight off a serious infection.” 

The flu vaccine is recommended for people six months and older, including people with compromised immune systems and chronic medical conditions. Flu vaccinations are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurances.

Please note, you will need to wear a mask into the facility and go through the screening process. Thank you for your cooperation. 

For general information about the upcoming influenza season, you can visit the CDC’s resources online at cdc.gov/flu. You can learn about all the flu shot opportunities by visiting EssentiaHealth.org/flu.