Flu Shot Clinic

It's that time of year again!

 

We have started our flu shot clinics.

We currently have flu vaccines for Private Insurance.

We are still waiting on delivery for our VFC vaccines and our Flu Mist.

 Please call our office to get an appointment scheduled

801-942-1800

 

Important facts about the Flu Vaccine

Facts every parent should know about the Flu vaccine.

1. The Flu vaccine is essential for children.

 

The flu virus is common and unpredictable, and it can cause serious complications and death, even in healthy children. The influenza immunization each year is the best way to protect children. 

Each year, on average, 5% to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from complications. At least 101 children died from the flu in the 2016-2017 season, If you choose not to vaccinate your child, you not only miss the opportunity to protect your own child but also can put others at risk.

 

2.Now is the time to get vaccinated.

 

Infants and children up to 8 years of age receiving the flu shot for the first time may need two doses of the vaccine, administered four weeks apart. It is important that these children get their first dose as soon as possible to be sure they can complete both doses before the flu season begins. 

 

3. This year's flu vaccine is only available as a shot.

 

This is given as a intramuscular injection. The intranasal vaccine is not recommended in any setting in the US.

 

4. You can not get the flu from the flu vaccine

 

Flu vaccines are made from killed viruses. Mild symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, and chills, can occur.

 

5.  If you catch the flu and are vaccinated, you will get a milder form of the disease.

 

We know that flu vaccines are about 60% effective--yes, we all wish that number were higher. The good news is that vaccinated people who get the flu usually get a mild form of the disease. People who are not vaccinated will likely be in bed with fever and miserable and even could develop a complication. 

 

6.The influenza vaccine doesn't cause autism.

 

A generous body of research continues to show that the influenza vaccine is safe and is not associated with autism.

7.Children with egg allergy can get the flu vaccine.

Children with an egg allergy can safely get the flu shot from their pediatrician without going to an allergy specialist. Even those with a history of severe egg allergy don't have to treat getting the flu vaccine differently than getting any other vaccine, because these people are not likely to have a reaction to the flu vaccine.

Please call our office at (801) 942-1800 to have your child scheduled for their flu vaccine.


Information for this post is found at www.healthychildren.org

 

 

Flu Shot Clinic

It's that time of year again!

We have started our flu shot clinics.

 Please call our office to get an appointment scheduled

801-942-1800

 

 

Flu shots are here!

It is that time again to get your annual flu shot or flu mist. Flu shots for all children ages 6 months and up, as well as FluMist for all children ages 2 years and up!  All of our doctor's do recommend getting an annual flu vaccination.

Flu vaccines will be by appointment only; Tuesday from 9-5, Wednesday 2pm-6pm, Thursday 2-7 pm. We will add another morning as the need increases. We will not be doing walk-in flu vaccines this year.  At this time we do NOT have any VFC flu shots or mist. Please call us with any questions.

 

Please contact your insurance company prior to your appointment to find out if they cover the flu vaccine and if they require a copay.  Most insurance companies do require a copay anytime a fee is generated.  If you choose not to pay your copay at the time of service, there is an additional $5 fee to bill you for your copay.

Flu Shot and Flu Mist time!

It is that time again to get your annual flu shot or flu mist. Flu shots for all children ages 6 months and up, as well as FluMist for all children ages 2 years and up!  All of our doctor's do recommend getting an annual flu vaccination.

Flu vaccines will be by appointment only; we will not be doing walk-in flu vaccines this year.  Appointments are available on Tuesday from 2:00-7:30, Wednesday from 2:00 7:00 and Thursday from 2:00- 5:00.  Feel free to call the office Monday through Friday to schedule your children for their flu vaccine!

Please contact your insurance company prior to your appointment to find out if they cover the flu vaccine and if they require a copay.  Most insurance companies do require a copay anytime a fee is generated.  If you choose not to pay your copay at the time of service, there is an additional $5 fee to bill you for your copay

Fact Friday - Flu Shots for Pregnant Women

Thank you to Dr. Jopling for providing the following article about flu shots for pregnant women!

Yale Study Says Vaccinated Mothers Have Healthier Newborns
Flu shots during pregnancy leads to fewer hospitalizations

Getting a flu shot during pregnancy is an effective way for mothers to prevent their newborns from getting the flu, according to a new Yale study.

The three-year study showed that mothers who were vaccinated while pregnant successfully kept their newborns from being hospitalized with influenza 91.5 percent of the time. The study looked at the hospitalizations of infants up to 6 months old. There are currently no flu vaccines for children under 6 months of age.

For the study, the researchers looked at the medical records of infants placed at Yale-New Haven Hospital for influenza, and another group of infants who had not gotten influenza.

Comparisons showed that, of the infants who did not come down with the flu, the overwhelming majority had mothers who had received the vaccine while expecting.

Yale medical student Marietta Vazquez, the study's senior author, said getting the shot while pregnant is an effective way for mothers to protect their infants. It's especially important, since there are no vaccines for children under six months old. And it's cost-effective, she said, since it protects two people with one shot.

Even before the new findings, which are published Wednesday in Clinical Infectious Diseases, health professionals have recommended flu shots for pregnant women since influenza can lead to miscarriages.

Also, pregnancy can make women more susceptible to the flu because of its effect on the immune system.

As far as types of vaccinations, pregnant women should get the flu shot made from an inactivated virus. The nasal spray vaccine, which is made from a live virus, is not recommended.

Flu Shot Madness!

As you may or may not know, the seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine are combined this year.  This will make getting flu shots so much easier!  It also makes things a little bit complicated because some children may require 2 flu vaccines this year. 

• If your child is under 9 years of age and has never received ANY flu vaccine before, they will need 2 doses of flu vaccine, at least 30 days apart. 
• If your child is under 9 years of age and received one dose of H1N1 last season, and HAS received 2 doses of flu vaccine in the past, they will only require one dose this season.
• If your child is under 9 years of age and did not receive any of the H1N1 vaccine last season, they will need to get 2 doses of flu vaccine, at least 30 days apart. 
• If your child is over 9 years of age, they will only need one dose of flu vaccine.

Hopefully, this will help clear up any confusion!  For a details diagram of these recommendations made by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click here.

Just a reminder, we are doing flu shots by appointments only this year.  The appointments are filling up fast, so call in today to schedule!  We have a very limited supply of flu shots for children over 3 years of age, but have plenty of FluMist to go around!  Because the appointments have filled up so quickly, we have added some Thursday evening appointments, as well as a couple of Saturday morning appointments so we can accomodate everyone as much as we can.  Please check with your insurance company to find out your flu vaccine coverage.  If you are not sure of your coverage when you come in for your appointment, you will be asked to pay your regular copay.

**Flu vaccine recommendations provided by the AAP and the CDC

Flu Vaccine Update!

We now have VFC flu vaccine available (for Medicaid/CHIP and self pay patients)!  This includes both the flu shot and the FluMist (for ages 2 and up).  We are not doing walk in flu vaccines this season.  All patients must have an appointment.  We are scheduling these on Monday afternoons, Wednesday morning and afternoons, and Thursday afternoons.  Call as soon as possible to schedule your appointments, as they are filling up quickly!  Afternoon appointments are currently booked out about 2 weeks!

**Remember to contact your insurance company to find out your flu vaccine coverage.  Most insurance companies do require a copay, while some cover 100%.  If you are not sure of your coverage, we will ask you to pay your regular copay at the time of service.  

New Info on Mercury-based Vaccine

A study in Pediatrics adds to the evidence that exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-based vaccine preservative, does not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder in children. "This study should reassure parents about following the recommended immunization schedule," said lead author Dr. Frank Destefano of the CDC.
-Reuters

By Frederik Joelving

NEW YORK | Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:38am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new government study adds to the evidence that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative until recently found in many vaccines, does not increase children's risk of autism.It shows kids who had been exposed as babies to high levels of the preservative -- through vaccines they received or their mothers received while pregnant -- were no more likely to develop autism, including two distinct subtypes of the condition.
"This study should reassure parents about following the recommended immunization schedule," said Dr. Frank Destefano, director of the Immunization Safety Office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, and the study's senior author.
Concerns about a link between vaccines and autism were first raised more than a decade ago by British physician Andrew Wakefield.
His report, based on 12 children, has since been discredited and was retracted earlier this year by the journal that published it. In the meantime, it sparked a fierce worldwide debate among scientists and a health scare that caused many parents to shy away from recommended vaccines like the one against measles, mumps and rubella.
Outbreaks of all three diseases followed.
One widespread worry has been that thimerosal might play a role in the development of autism, a condition that affects as many as one in 110 U.S. children, according to the CDC.
Most scientists consider autism a developmental disorder, likely influenced by genes.
Autism spectrum disorders range from mild Asperger's Syndrome to severe mental retardation and social disability, and there is no cure or good treatment.
The CDC researchers used data for U.S. children born between 1994 and 1999, who were enrolled in one of three managed care organizations.
They found 256 children with an autism spectrum disorder and compared them with 752 children who did not have the condition, but were matched for age and sex.
No matter when a child had been exposed to thimerosal -- before birth when the mother had a shot, or when the child itself was vaccinated as a baby or toddler -- there was no increase in the risk of any type of autism spectrum disorder.
In fact, those kids who were exposed to the preservative between birth and 20 months of age had slightly lower odds of developing the condition, although the researchers could not explain that result.
"This is a very reassuring study," said Dr. Michael J. Smith, a pediatrician at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky who was not involved in the research.
"These data show that you could receive a thimerosal vaccine and not be concerned about it."
Smith, who said he has a fully vaccinated two-month-old at home, noted that autism rates have continued to rise, although thimerosal has been removed from all routine childhood vaccines, except flu shots.
For parents who remain concerned about thimerosal in the flu shots, he said there are alternatives without the preservative, such as FluMist, a nasal spray that can be used in children aged two and older.
Some parents have also worried that giving too many shots at once, or in children who are too young, could cause mental problems. Smith said studies had dispelled those concerns one by one.
"There is no credible evidence" for a link between vaccines and autism, he told Reuters Health.

Flu Shots Are In!

We have received our first shipment of flu vaccine for the season.  So we now have flu shots for all children ages 6 months and up, as well as FluMist for all children ages 2 years and up!  The flu vaccine we have received so far is for regular insurance only. 

We have not yet received our VFC flu vaccine (for Medicaid, Chip, Self Pay).  We are hoping to receive that within the next couple of weeks.  Keep checking back for continuous updates on flu vaccine availability!  

Flu vaccines will be by appointment only; we will not be doing walk-in flu vaccines this year.  Appointments are available on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Feel free to call the office Monday through Friday to schedule your children for their flu vaccine!

Please contact your insurance company prior to your appointment to find out if they cover the flu vaccine and if they require a copay.  Most insurance companies do require a copay anytime a fee is generated.  If you choose not to pay your copay at the time of service, there is an additional $5 fee to bill you for your copay.

Flu Mist Available!

Call our office now to schedule an appointment!  As of right now, we only have the FluMist available for healthy children ages 2 years and up.

*Who Should Get Vaccinated:

On February 24, 2010, vaccine experts voted that everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year starting with the 2010-2011 influenza season.  CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted for "universal" flu vaccination in the U.S. to expand protection against the flu to more people.

While everyone should get a flu vaccine each flu season, it's especially important that the following groups get vaccinated either because they are at high risk of having serious flu-related complications or because they live with or care for people at high risk for developing flu-related complications:

1.  Pregnant women
2.  Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 years old
3.  People 50 years of age and older
4.  People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
5.  People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
6.  People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:

• Health care workers
• Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu
• Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated)

Who Should Not Be Vaccinated

There are some people who should not get a flu vaccine without first consulting a physician.  These include:

• People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs.
• People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination
• People who developed Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine.
• Children less than 6 months of age (influenza vaccine is not approved for this age group), and
• People who have a moderate-to-severe illness with a fever (they should wait until they recover to get vaccinated)

The "flu shot" - an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm.  The flu shot is approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions.

The nasal-spray flu vaccine (FluMist) - a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for "live attenuated influenza vaccine" or FluMist.)  LAIV (FluMist) is approved for use in healthy people 2-50 years of age who are not pregnant.

Again, at this time, we only have FluMist available.  We will keep you updated when we get the rest of our flu vaccine in!

*Information provide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine"