Meigs County Health Dept. Offering Flu Shots for All Ages
POMEROY, Ohio – The Meigs County Health Department kicked off its annual flu shot season with a Flu and COVID-19 shot clinic on October 2 on the Pomeroy Parking Lot in conjunction with the Meigs County Farmers Market with 52 flu shots and 9 COVID-19 Vaccines given. This is the second year of this partnership with the Meigs County Farmers Market, a setting which has proven successful, as many people who enjoy a trip to the farmers market find this convenient.
Flu shots will be given Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. at the Meigs County Health Department. Flu shots are recommended for everyone six months and up, with rare exception and ideally should be received by the end of October. Flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time.
Private insurance and Medicaid are accepted. Private pay flu shots are $25 for regular dose and $60 for high dose (65+ years). Limited doses are available for adults with no insurance.
For those who have chronic health conditions and are at higher risk of getting serious complications, flu vaccination is especially important. When you get vaccinated, you reduce your risk of getting sick with flu and possibly being hospitalized or dying.
Following is a list of all the health and age factors that are known to increase a person’s risk of getting serious complications from flu:
- Adults 65 years and older
- Children younger than 2 years old1
- Asthma
- Neurologic and neurodevelopment conditions
- Blood disorders (such as sickle cell disease)
- Chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and cystic fibrosis)
- Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
- Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease)
- Kidney diseases
- Liver disorders
- Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders)
- People who are obese with a body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher
- People younger than 19 years old on long-term aspirin- or salicylate-containing medications.
- People with a weakened immune system due to disease (such as people with HIV or AIDS, or some cancers such as leukemia) or medications (such as those receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer, or persons with chronic conditions requiring chronic corticosteroids or other drugs that suppress the immune system)
- People who have had a stroke
Other people at higher risk from flu:
- Pregnant people and people up to 2 weeks after the end of pregnancy
- People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
- People from certain racial and ethnic minority groups are at increased risk for hospitalization with flu, including non-Hispanic Black persons, Hispanic or Latino persons, and American Indian or Alaska Native persons
- 1 Although all children younger than 5 years old are considered at higher risk of serious flu complications, the highest risk is for those younger than 2 years old, with the highest hospitalization and death rates among infants younger than 6 months old.
Call the Meigs County Health Department at 740-992-6626 with questions. Contact your doctor if you are still unsure about being vaccinated.