Horn Memorial Public Health will be offering seasonal flu shots for children 6 months through 18 years of age on Tuesday, October 22 from 1-5 p.m. in the Horn Memorial Community Health office at 700 East Second Street. The clinic is for children 6 months through 18 years of age with Medicaid, no insurance or insurance that does not cover immunizations. The vaccine is available free of charge through the Vaccine For Children (VFC) program. There is a $14 charge for the administration of the vaccine. Medicaid pays for the administration fee.
Influenza is a highly contagious viral infection. Symptoms include fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and muscle aches. Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults. In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include: fast or trouble breathing, bluish skin color, not drinking enough fluids, not waking up or not interacting, being so irritable that the child does not want to be held, flu-like symptoms improve but then return with a fever or worse cough or fever with a rash.
Flu viruses mainly spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with the flu. Sometimes the flu spreads when people touch something with the flu virus on it and then touch their mouth or nose.
The single best way to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated each year. About two weeks after vaccination, antibodies develop that protect against influenza virus infection.
