Flu shots available starting Wednesday

By Miranda Baines

Published: September 29, 2008

The Rockingham County Department of Public Health will offer flu vaccinations Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Public health officials urge people who want to reduce the risk of becoming ill with the influenza virus or spreading it to others to get the flu vaccine.

“There is no shortage this year. There are ample flu vaccines,” said Blake Baird, health education program manager for the health department.

She said a broad range of population groups are at risk and should consider getting the vaccine. Among them are children 6 months through 18 years, people 50 and older, people with chronic diseases, health-care providers and residents of dormitories, correctional facilities or other crowded living areas, according to a news release from the health department.

The county’s first case of the flu last year was in mid-October. The flu season typically peaks in January but can last until May, said Baird. The best time to get a flu vaccine is October or November.

“It takes two weeks to fully get in your system,” said Baird. “You could be exposed to the virus before you even get the vaccine.”

Side effects of the flu vaccine are typically mild and may include low-grade fever, swelling around the injection site and body aches, according to Baird. Getting the flu vaccine cannot cause a person to develop a full-blown case of the flu.

“It’s an inactive virus; it’s a dead virus,” said Baird.

From 2002 to 2006, 147 people in Rockingham County died of pneumonia and influenza, according to the health department. Influenza and pneumonia were the seventh leading cause of death in the county. Baird said most deaths from flu and pneumonia can be prevented with the vaccine.

Scientists develop the vaccination months before the influenza virus makes its way to the United States based on strains in other parts of the world. The virus can mutate, rendering the flu vaccine ineffective, said Baird. That’s what happened last flu season.

“The flu vaccine really didn’t protect people. A lot of people still got the flu,” said Baird. Still, in most cases, people who have had the flu vaccine and get the flu have less severe symptoms than those who did not get the vaccine, said Baird.

Medicaid and Medicare cover the cost of the flu and pneumonia vaccine. The charge for people without Medicare or Medicaid is $29.75 for the flu vaccine and $44.90 for the pneumonia vaccine.

Staff writer Miranda Baines can be reached at or 349-4331, ext. 35.