Market Street Pharmacy to offer Flu Shots

NewsChannel 9 reached out to a half-dozen family practices around Onondaga County and each one has a supply of FluMist and shots for patients. Officials say that getting the shot not only protects you, but also those mentioned above who are most likely to get the virus.

Melanie Collett, spokeswoman for the health district, said the time for community members to start getting their flu shots is now. Last year, flu clinics conducted in Logan County saw 4,048 people vaccinated. The vaccine could result in minor side effects, including redness and swelling at the injection site, and is not recommended for those with a history of severe allergic reactions to eggs. What is particularly frustrating is that many of them refuse because of misunderstandings about the flu shot.

Flu and pneumonia vaccines are now available to all Burlington County residents via clinics that will be held throughout the county until December.

Every year the flu leads to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths across the United States, including 78 influenza-associated deaths in California last year among people under age 65, Chapman said.

It’s important to remember that we give the flu shot during the flu season – and that it can take a couple of weeks to take effect.

“Since they’re kids, the regular shot hurts them and so that we don’t cause them any pain, I prefer the mist”, said his mother, Maria Martinez. Since the exact flu viruses are nearly never the same, the strains used to make the vaccine change each year, which is why people need to get a new flu vaccine annually. The trivalent, considered the standard vaccine and most commonly given, covers three strains of the virus.

“We’ve come the last few years to get the flu shots”, Bradshaw said. But there are delays this year in shipments of FluMist, the nasal vaccine, which is approved for ages 2 to 49.

Everyone 6 months and older is encouraged to get one, but especially the young and elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with underlying health problems.

If you have the flu, which is contagious for about a week, remember that while you might be strong enough to easily fight off a flu, not everyone is.