NICOLLET COUNTY - Influenza shot clinics will be held in Nicollet County this week.
Sponsored by Nicollet County Public Health, clinics will be held from 9-10 a.m. in the Lafayette Community Center and from 11 a.m. - noon in the Courtland Rec Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
On Thursday, Oct. 9, a clinic will be held from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Paul in Nicollet.
Flu shots in Nicollet County cost $20 for private pay. They will be given only to those age 18 and older.
Brown County
Brown County Public Health, 1117 Center St., will host flu shot clinics 1-4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 15; 8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 16 and 1-4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Brown County flu shots are $25 for private pay. Call 233-6820 for an appointment.
The public is asked to bring Medicare and Prescription Drug cards.
County flu shot clinics are not providers of Health Partners, Medica, or Unicare.
Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends flu shots for children ages six months to 19 years, pregnant women, people age 50 and older, people with certain chronic medical conditions, those who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, health care workers, household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children less than six months of age.
Flu symptoms include high fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches and stomach symptoms.
Some people should not be vaccinated without talking to a doctor. They include:
People severely allergic to chicken eggs or who have had a severe flu shot reaction in the past.
Have Guillain-Barre' syndrome (GBS) within six weeks of getting a previous flu shot.
Children younger than six months old.
Moderately or severely ill people with a fever should wait until their symptoms lessen.
According to the CDC, 5-20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year. More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications and about 36,000 people die from the illness.
(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).