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The flu season is upon us once again and the Madison County Health Department is trying to combat the influenza virus before it arrives in our area. For further information regarding the “Flu Drive-Thru Clinic”, please contact Chad Coffey at (828)426-8461.

On Saturday, October 3, we will have our “Drive-Thru” flu clinic at Hannah Crawford Elementary School (5444 Crestline Rd.).

“So, that allows us also to go into participating Boone County elementary, middle and high schools to provide those vaccines on various days”, said Waner.

Those who are eligible should bring the proper insurance cards.

Walk-ins will be gladly accepted. Pregnant women and the elderly are also at high risk. Vaccines will be available while supplies last. However, because scientists must predict the most common virus strains, the vaccine is never effective against all forms of the flu.

Although there’s reason to be optimistic that flu vaccines will offer more protection this year, the authors of the CDC report stressed that “it is not possible” to predict which flu strains will circulate most widely this fall and winter, nor how well the...

“So we think the vaccine is a good match”, says Dr. Mertz.

By including components of H3N2 in this season’s flu vaccine, health care professionals hope to raise vaccine effectiveness against predominant strains back up to the 50 to 60 percent range. The elderly are more susceptible to influenza than other populations and...

Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the mix of strains in this year’s new formula will include the troublemaker strain that was absent in last year’s shot.