Logansport Memorial Hospital encourages flu shots more than ever this season
Last Updated on January 13, 2021 by Logansport Memorial Hospital
SOURCE: News release from Logansport Memorial Hospital
With flu season fast approaching and the COVID-19 pandemic sticking around, it is more important than ever to do what you can to protect yourself and your family against the flu. The best way to do that is by getting your annual preventative flu vaccine.
At Logansport Memorial Hospital, we follow and promote the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that everyone ages 6 months and older get aflu shot as the best chance of protection against it. “Getting a flu shot is one more thing we know and trust that people can do to help keep themselves and their loved ones healthy –in addition to social distancing, proper handwashing, and wearing masks,” comments Sheila Briner, RN, BSN, Infection Preventionist at Logansport Memorial Hospital. “With the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the difficulty in determining what symptoms are related to which respiratory illness that may be affecting you (cold, flu, or COVID), it is critical that we all take advantage of proven preventative actions like getting a flu shot to keep ourselves protected during this time,” she added.
Flu shots are now available in various locations around the Cass County community:
Logansport Memorial Hospital physician offices
• Family Medicine, Suite 270: call for an appointment (574) 722-4921
• Internal Medicine, Suite 170: call for an appointment (574) 722-4331
• Pediatrics, Suite 330: call for an appointment(574) 753-4151
• CVS Pharmacy
• Walgreens Pharmacy
• Martin’s Supermarket
• Walmart
• The Cass County Health Department
• Indiana Health Center (IHC) Logansport
Some workplaces may also offer flu shots on-site for the convenience of their employees. Check with your employer to see if flu shots will be offered available to you at work. Logansport Memorial’s Occupational Health clinic can provide flu shots for partnered employers. If you are interested in learning more about this possibility for your workplace, please call (574) 753-1548, option 1.
If patients are established at one of Logansport Memorial’s clinics in Miami, Fulton, or Carroll counties, flu shots can be given to patients in each of those locations by appointment as well:
•LMPN Peru Medical Center (Miami County): call for an appointment (765) 472-2812
• LMPN Rochester Health Center (Fulton County): call for an appointment (574) 223-4141
• LMPN Camden Health Center (Carroll County): call for an appointment (574) 686-2022
Many insurances will cover the cost of a flu vaccine as prevention or wellness. Be sure to bring your insurance card with you when you go for your shot.
If your insurance does not cover the vaccine, if you are on Medicaid, or if you don’t have insurance, the Cass County Health Department can provide flu shots for you and your family. Children ages 6 months to 18 years old will receive the vaccine for free. Adults ages 19 and older will pay a flat $20 fee. The Cass County Health Department is located at 512 High Street in Logansport. For questions about receiving your flu shot from the Cass County Health Department, please call (574) 753-7760.
Each year, the flu vaccine is developed to provide immunity to the flu viruses that are most prevalent and likely to cause illness, identified by health experts from the CDC and other leading public health organizations. It’s still important to be vaccinated every yearbecause a person’s immunity to flu viruses declines over time. The flu virus also changes (mutates) from one year to the next. Immunity that you have from previous flu shots can help protect you against previous strains of flu, but will not protect you against any new or changed flu virus. That’s why getting a flu shot every year is necessary to provide maximum immunity to the current strain of the flu virus.
After receiving your flu shot, it will take approximately two weeks to develop immunity.
LMH Infection Preventionist Sheila Briner comments, “If someone was exposed to the flu before getting the shot, or is exposed to a flu-like illness sometime in that two-week window of time, he or she may still get sick. This is why the myth that ‘the flu shot causes the flu’ continues to come up. It is not true. The flu shot cannot cause the flu.”
She went on to say, “Some people may still get the flu during the flu season even if they do receive their flu shot. The flu shot is not a guarantee that you won’t still get sick from the flu. But we usually see that if that happens, the case of flu is milder and causes fewer complications for someone who got their flu shot than for someone who did not.”
LMH follows the recommendations of the CDC and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) in urging people to get their flu shot as soon as they are available. The time is now to start protecting yourself and your family. Don’t let the flu get you… get a flu shot today!