Health department offering flu vaccine
The Walker County Health Department, 603 East Villanow St., Lafayette, is now offering flu vaccines on a walk-in basis during regular business hours.
Public health experts say now is a good time for people to consider getting vaccinated for the upcoming flu season.
“Get your flu vaccine as soon as it is available each year,” says Tracy Pevehouse, nurse manager at the Walker County Health Department, “and there’s plenty of it available in our community right now, including at the health department.
“We have the high dose vaccine available for adults 65 and older who are at greater risk of severe illness from influenza and the quadrivalent vaccine that provides broader protection against circulating flu viruses for everyone else.”
Pevehouse says everyone six months and older should get a flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible. Flu season can start early, and it takes about two weeks after your vaccination for the full antibody effect to develop and provide flu protection. That’s why it’s better to get vaccinated in August, September or early October, before the flu season really kicks in.
“The flu shot will last through the flu season,” Pevehouse says. “It’s never too early to get a flu shot, as we cannot accurately predict when the influenza season will begin, but it can be too late.” Flu season usually begins in October, but can begin as early as September and can last well into March. Peak flu season in Georgia usually occurs in late January and early February.
Who should get a flu vaccine?
Everyone six months of age and older should get a flu vaccine every season. Vaccination to prevent influenza is particularly important for people who are at high risk of serious complication from influenza, including:
Children younger than five, but especially children younger than two years, Adults 65 years of age and older, Pregnant women and women up to two weeks postpartum, Residents of nursing homes and other longterm care facilities, and People who have medical conditions including asthma, chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, etc. It is especially important to get the flu vaccine if you, someone you live with, or someone you care for is at high risk of complications from flu.
It’s also recommended that pregnant women get a flu vaccine during any trimester of their pregnancy. There’s added value to the seasonal flu vaccine for pregnant women, too. Not only does it protect them against the flu, it also protects their newborn infants, for up to the first few months of life at least, at a time when infants are too young to receive the vaccine themselves.
Walker County Health Department hours are Monday - Wednesday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m, Thursday 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Hours for the Environmental Health office are Monday – Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Acceptable payment methods include cash, check, credit-or-debit card, Medicare, Medicaid, Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield of Georgia, Cigna, and United Health Care SHBP.
Contact the Walker County Health Department, 603 E. Villanow Street, LaFayette, at 706-638-5577; the Environmental Health office, 101 Napier St., LaFayette, at 706-6392574, or visit www.nwgapublichealth. org/counties/walker