Flu shots at VMH Community and Home Care

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care is still offering flu shots every Wednesday afternoon during its regular immunization clinics. The next flu shot clinics will be held Wednesday, November 15 from 1-6 p.m. and again Wednesday, November 22 from 1-4 p.m. The Community and Home Care Immunization Clinic is located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  

Immunization clinics are held from 1-6 p.m. the first and third Wednesdays of the month, and from 1-4 p.m. all other Wednesdays. Flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, and a combination of flu and pneumonia vaccine will all be available. Tetanus shots will be offered as well.

Medicare does cover the costs of a flu shot. Billing for Medicare will be completed by the Community and Home Care staff, but participants will need to bring their physician’s name and their Medicare number with them. Pneumonia and Tdap shots are also available.

Influenza, also called the flu, can cause fever, chills, headache, cough, sore throat and muscle aches to people of any age, and can lead to pneumonia and even death. But most deaths caused by influenza are in elderly people.

The Center for Disease Control now recommends that everyone age six months and older get vaccinated against the flu every year. Since the influenza viruses change frequently, they may not always be covered by the vaccine and the vaccine does not protect against other viral infections other than influenza.

For more information, call the Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care Department at 563-568-5660.