VNA Preparing for Busy Flu Season

The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) is preparing for another busy flu shot season. Influenza (flu) is a serious disease of the nose, throat, and lungs. It can make you sick for a week or longer with coughing, fever, aching, and more. It can lead to pneumonia and make already existing health problems such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease worse. Each year in the U.S. about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes. Getting a flu shot is the BEST way to protect yourself and your loved ones from the flu.

Upcoming opportunities to get flu shots will be:

• Tuesday, September 15th from 9am to 12pm at Bonner Senior Center, 5800 Lexington in Portage;
• Friday, September 25th from 9am to 12pm at Harris Bank, 502 East 1100 North in Chesterton;
• Tuesday, September 29th from 3:30pm to 5:30pm at Wheeler High School, 587 West 300 North in Wheeler; and,
• Tuesday, September 29th from 3pm to 5pm at Campbell Street Café, 4245 Meridian Woods, Valparaiso.

Flu shots will also be administered at the Porter Stay Healthy Fair on October 4, from 12 noon to 4 pm, at the Expo Center located at Route 49 and Division Road in Valparaiso.

Flu shots cost $30 or presentation of a Medicare Part B card. Ticket numbers will be distributed on a first come, first served basis at VNA flu shot clinic sites.

Individuals at high risk of complications from the flu include senior citizens age 65 years and older; all persons age 9 years and older with a chronic medical condition such as heart disease, asthma, diabetes, kidney disease, neuromuscular disorders and immunological problems; pregnant women; health care workers with direct patient contact; and, caregivers/ household contacts of infants less than 6 months old. The VNA is not able to vaccinate children under the age of 9 years.

At this time, only seasonal flu vaccine is available at VNA flu shot clinics. The VNA continues to collaborate with the Porter County Department of Health for future H1N1 immunizations.

For a complete list of flu shot clinics, check the VNA website at www.vnaportercounty.org, or the Flu Clinic Locator at www.vnaa.org. You may also call the VNA Flu Phone at 219-531-8088 for additional updates and information.