Walk-in Flu Clinic 10-20-15

Joseph V. Sowmick - October 20, 2015

In an effort to provide bonus coverage, Team Observer joins with the Nimkee Memorial Wellness Center and the Nimkee Public Health Department as they provide their Walk-in Immunization Flu Clinic today from 8am to 8pm in the Nimkee lobby.  Public Health Nurses Twila and Sue will be administering the free vaccine to all Tribal members and employees who come into the clinic.  Medical Assistant Nicole Aasved shows how easy it is to take the brief three minute procedure.   “I’ve been getting shots for years from Twila and I never feel a thing,” Aasved said. 

 

Dr. Jennifer Caudle encourages the public to get vaccinated and debunks some common myths around the flu in a December 2013 CNN report.

Question:  “I don't want the flu shot because I heard it will give me the flu” …

When I was a third-year medical student, I got the flu shot. Three days later, I came down with an epic flu-like illness that lasted for days! So I understand that this is the very reason why many think the flu shot causes the flu. But the truth is that the flu vaccine -- the flu shot or nasal spray -- cannot give you the flu.

So, what happened to me, you ask? Why did I get sick after getting the vaccine? There are a few possible reasons:

-- It can actually take a couple of weeks for the body to become protected from influenza after getting vaccinated. So it is possible that I became infected during this time.

-- Many viruses can cause flu-like symptoms. Even though I felt like I had the flu, a different virus could have caused my infection.

-- The influenza vaccine protects us against the three or four most common strains predicted to cause illness in any given season, thus it is possible that I had a strain of the flu that wasn't covered by the vaccine.

-- The conventional flu vaccine is pretty effective, but it's not 100% effective.

Question:  “It doesn’t really make a difference on whether I get a flu shot or not” …

Nothing could be further from the truth. It DOES make a difference.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccinations prevented 79,000 flu hospitalizations and 6.6 million flu-associated illnesses during the 2012-13 influenza season. Complications from the flu can be serious and result in hospitalization, and even death, for some patients. The best way to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated.

 

The first Walk-in Immunization Clinic was on Oct. 8 and associates will have another opportunity to receive vaccination at the SECR Entertainment Hall Oct. 27 from 6 am to 6 pm.