Beebe Healthcare to host free flu vaccination clinics
Beebe Healthcare will offer free flu clinics for the community starting this month.
Influenza viruses are always changing so annual vaccination is recommended. Each year scientists try to match the viruses in the vaccine to those most likely to cause flu that year. Vaccinations will be provided to adults only (18 and over) at the clinics. Parents should contact their children's physician or the Division of Public Health for information about pediatric vaccinations.
Megan Williams, DNP, BA, FNP-COPC, director of Population Health, said Beebe will once again host a free flu clinic at the Medical Center in Lewes every Monday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sept. 19 to Nov. 17. Beebe also participates in free health screenings at events across Sussex County to better serve the community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following populations consider getting the influenza vaccination:
· People 50 to 64 years of age. Nearly one-third of people between the ages of 50 and 64 years of age in the United States have one or more medical conditions that place them at an increased risk for serious flu complications.
· People who can transmit flu to others at high risk for complications. Any person in close contact with someone in a high-risk group should get vaccinated. This includes all healthcare workers, household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of young children up to 23 months of age, and close contacts of people 65 years and older.
According to CDC, people at high risk for complications from influenza include:
· People 65 years and older.
· People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that house those with long-term illnesses.
· Adults and children 6 months and older with chronic heart or lung conditions, including asthma.
· Adults and children 6 months and older who needed regular medical care or were in a hospital during the previous year because of a metabolic disease (like diabetes), chronic kidney disease, or weakened immune system (including immune system problems caused by medicines or by infection with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV/AIDS]).
· Children 6 months to 18 years of age who are on long-term aspirin therapy. (Children given aspirin while they have influenza are at risk of Reye's syndrome.).
· Women who are pregnant during influenza season.
· All children 6 to 23 months of age.
· People with any condition that can compromise respiratory function or the handling of respiratory secretions (that is, a condition that makes it hard to breathe or swallow, such as brain injury or disease, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other nerve or muscle disorders).
If you become ill with the influenza virus, make sure to rest, drink plenty of liquids, avoid using alcohol and tobacco, and take medication to relieve symptoms. Never give aspirin to children or teenagers who have flu-like symptoms, especially fever, without consulting a physician. In some cases, physicians may choose to prescribe certain antiviral drugs to treat influenza. Antibiotics do not cure influenza, which is caused by a virus.
Every Monday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sept. 19 to Nov. 17, free flu vaccinations will be given in the lobby of the Medical Center on Savannah Road in Lewes.
Additional flu vaccination clinics are set for:
Sept. 26, 4-7 p.m., at Ocean View VFW, Mason Dixon Post 7234, 29265 Marshy Hope Way, Ocean View
Oct. 4, 2-5 p.m., at Beebe Lab Express, Millville, 32550 Doc's Place (Creekside Plaza, Route 26), Millville
Oct. 5, 12-6 p.m., at CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth
Oct. 6, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., at Sussex County YMCA, 20080 Church St., Rehoboth
Oct. 8, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., at Rabbit's Ferry Community Center, Robinsonville Road (7 Shady Nook Road), Lewes
Oct. 9, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., at Lewes Presbyterian Church, 133 Kings Highway, Lewes
Oct. 11, 2-5 p.m., at Beebe Lab Express, Georgetown, 21635 Biden Ave. (across from Del Tech on Route 18/404)
Oct. 13, 2-5 p.m., at Beebe Lab Express, Millsboro, 28538 duPont Blvd. (Route 113)
Oct. 14, 8-10 a.m., at Rehoboth Beach Parking Division, 1 City Hall Drive
Oct. 18, Noon-3 p.m., at Beebe Lab Express, Milton, Clipper Square Shopping Center, 614 Mulberry St.
Oct. 22, Noon-3 p.m., at Beebe Health Campus, Outpatient Center, John J. Williams Hwy. (Rt. 24), Rehoboth
Oct. 26, 2-6 p.m., at Crossroad Community Church, 20684 State Forest Road, Georgetown
Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at St. Jude Catholic Church (Five Points/Nassau), 152 Tulip Drive, Lewes
Nov. 20, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., at Bethel AME Church, Milton, Mulberry Street, Milton
For more information on the clinics, call Beebe Population Health at 302-645-3337. For a full listing of flu clinics and street addresses, go to www.beebehealthcare.org/calendar.
Beebe Healthcare is a not-for-profit community healthcare system with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health for the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities it serves. It offers services throughout southern Delaware including a 210-licensed-bed hospital, a cancer center, and outpatient facilities at multiple sites providing walk-in care, lab, imaging, and physical rehab services. For more information, go to www.beebehealthcare.org.
