Health Department schedules the first flu vaccine clinics of the season

COUNTY PRESS RELEASE

Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert announce that the first Health Department flu vaccine clinic of the season will be held on Friday, September 16, from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Robert Yeager Health Center, Building A, second floor rotunda clinic area, located on Sanatorium Road in Pomona. Additional flu vaccine clinics will be held on Friday, September 23 and 30, and on October 7, 14, 21, and 28, at the same location and time.

The Health Department offers the flu vaccine to residents nine years and older; no appointments are needed. The vaccine is free of charge to adults 65 years and older (please bring identification with proof of age). Patients with Medicare and Medicaid must bring their cards. There is a $30 fee for those 9 through 64 years old. Each patient must bring proof of Rockland County residency such as a driver’s license or utility bill. It is recommended that you wait for 15 minutes after being vaccinated so you can be observed for any reactions.
The Health Department will be giving the quadrivalent flu vaccine which does not contain the preservative thimerosal. The vaccine is called quadrivalent because it offers protection against four different flu viruses that research shows will be most common during this flu season: two influenza (flu) A viruses and two influenza B viruses. Talk to your doctor before getting the flu shot if you have an allergy to eggs or any of the ingredients in the vaccine (talk to your doctor about your allergy); and if you are not feeling well (talk to your doctor about your symptoms).
Health Dept. officials encourage Rocklanders to get the flu vaccine early in the season because it takes two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against the influenza virus.

 

The flu is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death, Dr. Ruppert noted. “Getting the flu vaccine is the main way to prevent the flu and its complications.”
As the Health Department receives more shipments of the vaccine, additional flu vaccine clinics will be scheduled. For more information about the flu and the flu vaccine clinics visit http://bit.ly/2c154Bj or call 845-364-2520.

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