Free flu vaccines will be administered to residents from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, October 17, at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford Ave.
This service is first-come, first-served and is being sponsored by the Los Angeles County Department of Health. Residents are reminded that flu vaccines are for everyone six months of age and older and this clinic is for all ages.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends that adults should receive the flu vaccination every year. Although the vaccine is not always 100 percent effective, it can reduce the intensity and the risk of long-term complications.
According to UC San Francisco doctors, in a bad flu season, which peaks from December to February, 40 million to 50 million Americans may catch the flu, with some 800,000 requiring hospitalization.
“So, the worry is that with the onset of the flu season, you’re going to get peaks of flu and COVID-19 cases at the same time,” said the university’s infectious disease expert, Dr. Charles Chiu. “Even with a mild flu season, the convergence with a COVID surge could very rapidly overwhelm our hospital system.”
Experts say the best time to get a vaccination is early in the flu season—generally late September or early October, so that your body has time to develop an immune response before there is a widespread transmission of the flu.
CDC estimates that from 2010-2011 to 2017-2018, influenza-associated deaths in the United States ranged from a low of 12,000 (during 2011-2012) to a high of 79,000 (during 2017-2018).
Vaccines Recommended for Adults/Seniors
Every adult should have an initial Tdap shot, plus a booster for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough) every 10 years. Even as California has seen a rise in whooping cough, the number of adults getting a booster has not risen.
Only one in four adults over 60 have received the shingles (Herpes Zoster) shot. If one had chicken pox, the virus lies dormant in the body and can recur as a blistering painful condition. It can cause complications with eyes and result in post-herpetic neuralgia.
Most seniors know they need pneumonia shots, but the CDC actually recommends that same shot for people as young as 27. Specifically, all adults over 65 receive two different pneumococcal vaccines (PCV13 and PPSV23) to protect against the bacteria that causes pneumonia, as well as ear and sinus infections, and can invade the bloodstream.
Additional recommended adult vaccines are for hepatitis A and B and Hib (Haemophilus influenza type b).
Consult your primary physician or visit CDC.gov for more information on the recommended adult vaccination schedule.