October 6, 2020
Media Contact: VDH Risk Communications Manager Lorrie Andrew-Spear, Lorrie.Andrew-Spear@vdh.virginia.gov
No-Cost Flu Shots Offered in Winchester This Thursday
(Winchester, Va.) — The Lord Fairfax Health District will offer flu shots at no cost to the recipient Thursday, October 8 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Frederick Douglass Park in the 600 Block of Smithfield Avenue, Winchester. In addition, the health district has partnered with Our Health, United Way, Valley Health, the City of Winchester and Valley Assistance Network for this event to offer information on rent, mortgage, and utility assistance programs, job training, voter registration, free masks, sanitizer, and first aid kits, take home HIV tests and blood pressure screenings.
“Each year, we conduct a training exercise to test our ability to efficiently and properly vaccinate a large group of people at a single location,” said Lord Fairfax Health District Director Colin Greene. “Since there is great demand for the annual flu shot, it makes sense to offer it during the exercise. This is the same shot that we are giving in our clinics, with the advantage that shots given during the exercise are available free of charge to the patient. We will give shots all day, or until we have administered all 200 doses.”
The Lord Fairfax Health District advises everyone that getting a flu shot is the single best way to protect yourself from getting sick, and it is also the best way to prevent the spread of flu to others.
A flu shot cannot cause the flu. Influenza was connected to between 20,000 and 60,000 deaths last winter in the United States. Those with the highest risk include:
- Children younger than five, but especially younger than two years old
- Adults 65 years of age or older
- Women who are pregnant or just had a baby
- People with chronic health conditions
The Lord Fairfax Health District also offers flu vaccines at all of its health department clinics (Shenandoah, Page, Warren, Clarke and Frederick counties and the city of Winchester). The cost is $30; and if the patient has insurance, the clinic will bill insurance. A walk-in flu shot area is available at any Health Department Clinic where the “Get Your Flu Shot” sign is up.
Flu shots are also available from your healthcare provider, and at most pharmacies and clinics in drug stores, grocery stores and big box retailers. Use the “Flu Vaccine Finder” at www.vaccinefinder.org to find providers in your ZIP code.
Additional information on flu is available from VDH at www.misstheflu.com.
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The Lord Fairfax Health District serves residents in the city of Winchester and Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah and Warren counties. For more information, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/lord-fairfax/.