Blog

COVID Booster and Flu Shots

By Christine Hall

We are thrilled that we have been able to offer the flu vaccine to both our residents and staff. We have also secured a vendor to come to Franke Tobey Jones on October 27 to provide the COVID booster to all residents and staff that would like to receive it. .

In October, in partnership with CVS Pharmacy, we hosted a flu vaccination clinic in which all residents and staff had the opportunity to receive the flu vaccine.  It was a busy day, but we are very happy that we were able to offer this service to our residents and staff.

There are many reasons to get an influenza (flu) vaccine each year. Flu vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against flu and its potentially serious complications. Some of the benefits include:

• Keeping you from getting sick with flu. The flu vaccination prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year. For example, during  2019-2020 the flu vaccination prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations, and 6,300 influenza-associated deaths.

• Reducing severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.

• Reducing the risk of flu-associated hospitalization.

• Prevention tool for people with certain chronic health conditions.  Flu vaccination has been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who have had a cardiac event in the past year.

• Helping to protect pregnant people during and after pregnancy.  Vaccination reduces the risk of flu-associated acute respiratory infection in pregnant people by about one-half.

• Can be lifesaving in children.  A 2017 study was the first of its kind to show that flu vaccination can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from flu.

• Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.

(information from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccine-benefits.htm)