Dougherty County flu vaccine clinic set for Saturday

ALBANY — Flu season is often of significant concern for schools and day care settings, where flu has a tendency to spread rapidly. That has not been lost on those within the public health arena, including the Dougherty County Health Department.

A special half-day clinic will be conducted from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday with the goal of vaccinating as many families with school-aged children as quickly and efficiently as possible at the Dougherty County Health Department, located at 1710 S. Slappey Blvd.

“We are offering both the nasal mist and the injectable flu shots during the clinic, which is open to families with children in public and private schools,” said Dougherty County Health Department Nurse Director Remy Hutchins. “Our goal is to see as many people as possible, since seasonal flu activity has begun. The sooner you get vaccinated, the better. It takes about two weeks after it is administered before the vaccine reaches its full effectiveness.”

Health department officials said viruses spread more easily among children in schools, often due to more people contained in a close setting, and that families with school-age children experience more infections in family members.

“Healthy students miss fewer days of school,” said Beverly Reid, immunization coordinator with the health department. “That results in less stress on the family.”

“More infections can result in lost productivity for parents who have to take time off from work to care for sick family members or because they are ill themselves. Keeping our children flu-free benefits our community. Influenza is a potentially serious illness that sickens and even kills thousands of Americans each year.”

The vaccine costs $25 per dose. The health department accepts cash, checks, Medicaid, Peachstate, Wellcare, Amerigroup, Peachcare, Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna/Coventry and the United Healthcare State Health Benefit Plan. Vaccines can be offered to children with no insurance for little to no cost.

Public health officials say every healthy individual over the age of 6 months should get a flu vaccine, and is especially important for the elderly, very young and pregnant women. Officials say activity is currently low in Georgia, but it often spikes in late November or early December.

Last year’s flu season was severe because the predominate virus, H3N2, changed and was no longer well matched with the vaccine. The vaccine for 2015-16 contains the new H3N2 strain, state public health officials said, while noting that flu can often be unpredictable.

“Flu viruses are constantly changing so it’s not unusual for new strains to appear each year,” said Dr. Patrick O’Neal, director of Health Protection for the Georgia Department of Public Health. “Even if the vaccine is not a perfect match, it can still help lessen the severity and length of flu if you do get sick.”

Symptoms of flu include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, chills and fatigue. Some of the other things to do to protect against flu include:

— Frequent and thorough hand washing, or use of alcohol-based hand gel;

— Covering the nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing. Use a tissue or cough or sneeze into the crook of the elbow or arm;

— Avoid touching the face;

— If sick, stay home from school or work. Flu sufferers should be free of fever without the use of a fever reducer for at least 24 hours before returning to school or work;

— See a doctor to get a prescription for antiviral drugs, if it is deemed appropriate. Antiviral drugs are most effective when administered within 48 hours of symptoms appearing.

Flu activity in Georgia can be tracked at dph.georgia.gov. For more information about flu and how to prevent it, an individual can talk to a health care provider, log onto flu.gov or contact their county’s health department.