Drive Up Flu Shot Clinics at Mosaic in Maryville

Mosaic in Maryville will be holding drive-up flu shot clinics at the entrance of Mosaic Specialty Care West. The dates are as follows:

October 4th — 8 am to 11 am

October 6th — 5 pm to 6:30 pm

October 8th — 5 pm to 6:30 pm

October 14th — 5 pm to 6:30 pm

October 16th — 5 pm to 6:30 pm

October 18th — 8 am to 11 am

Please call (660) 562-2525 to schedule an appointment.

The CDC recommends that everyone six months and older get a flu vaccine before the end of October.

 

Hy-Vee Now Offering Flu Shots

Hy-Vee, Inc. announced Monday that the flu vaccine is now available inside its more than 270 Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations, with no appointment or prescription necessary. Drive-thru flu clinics will also be offered at Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations throughout the company’s eight-state region on select days. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends individuals 6 months of age and older get a flu vaccine each year to prevent getting and spreading the flu virus.

Australia is nearing the end of its worst flu season in five years, according to a report from the country's Department of Health and Aged Care1, a sign that flu activity in the U.S. could reach pre-pandemic levels during the 2022-2023 season. 

Hy-Vee pharmacists conduct a screening process prior to vaccination to ensure each individual is receiving the most beneficial flu vaccine for their health. Both regular- and high-dose flu vaccines are available at Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations. Medicare and most insurance plans cover the flu vaccine and other immunizations at no charge. At this time, all vaccine patients must wear a mask during their vaccination, according to CDC guidelines.

Currently, flu vaccines are available without a prescription during regular pharmacy hours to patients 6 months and older at Hy-Vee’s Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota locations; or 3 years and older in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin locations, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ PREP Act.

Patients 12 years and older may also receive their COVID-19 vaccine or booster at the time of their flu shot at their local Hy-Vee Pharmacy. Patients seeking both a flu and COVID-19 immunization should notify their Hy-Vee pharmacist upon arrival.

Each patient who receives a flu vaccine at a Hy-Vee Pharmacy can earn a 20-cent Hy-Vee Fuel Saver + Perks reward, which can be redeemed at any Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh, Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh Express or Dollar Fresh Market fuel location. See www.Hy-Vee.com for details. Restrictions apply. 

Hy-Vee will also be offering workplace vaccination clinics using its fleet of Hy-Vee Healthy You Mobiles and Hy-Vee Health mobile trailers. Employers who wish to schedule an onsite clinic for their employees can email vaccineclinic@hy-vee.com for more details. Clinics are typically held September through November.

Opinion -- FDA Urges Flu Shots

The FDA wants to remind the millions of men and women on the front lines of growing, processing, preparing, selling and delivering food for both people and animals, to get their seasonal flu shot.   

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the healthcare community are preparing for flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 that will spread this fall and winter. Both are contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. One of the most important differences is that there is a vaccine already available that can protect you against the flu. While getting a flu shot will not protect against COVID-19, a flu shot will protect you by reducing your risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and possibly death. Protecting yourself from the flu will also help save medical resources for the care of COVID-19 patients. 

People who have flu often feel some, or all, of these symptoms:

–fever or feeling feverish/chills

–cough

–sore throat

–runny or stuffy nose

–muscle or body aches

–headaches

–fatigue (tiredness)

–some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

The best time to get a flu shot is now before the flu begins spreading in your community. It takes about two weeks after getting a vaccine for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection. 

The same factors that contribute to workplace and community spread of COVID-19-- including prolonged close contact with coworkers, congregate housing, shared transportation, and frequent community contact among workers—likely contribute to the spread of the flu. 

When an essential worker gets a flu shot, they protect themselves, their families,  co-workers, and their communities. Healthy workers help to ensure the availability of a safe and nutritious food supply. 

To learn more about how and where to get a flu shot, contact your employer or visit: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/.

New Influenza Vaccine Manufactured with Novel Technology

(Health and Human Services) -- Our nation has reached a landmark in influenza vaccine history with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a new seasonal flu vaccine, called Flublok, made with novel technology. This method uses recombinant DNA and a modified baculovirus (a virus that infects insects) to produce a safe and effective human flu vaccine. The approval yesterday of the new vaccine produced with this modern technology stands as one of the most significant improvements in flu vaccine technology in the past 50 years. I am honored that such a remarkable advancement came through a public-private partnership between ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and Protein Sciences Corporation.
Since its inception in 2006, BARDA has worked steadily with private industry to advance influenza vaccine technology and develop flu vaccines with these modern technologies that are FDA approved, ultimately providing more domestic pandemic vaccine capacity. As part of these national pandemic preparedness efforts, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases supported early stage development of this vaccine and in 2009, when the vaccine reached an advanced development stage, BARDA began a partnership with Protein Sciences Corporation to reach the results we are seeing today: a new flu vaccine made with modern technology.
Demand for influenza vaccine can increase with little warning in a pandemic and in years when the flu is especially widespread. The method used to manufacture Flublok may help meet the increased demand for flu vaccine quickly because it has the potential for faster start-up of the manufacturing process than traditional egg-based vaccine methods. The process is nimble enough to be used for seasonal as well as potentially for pandemic flu vaccine because the technology does not depend on an egg supply or on the availability of modified influenza virus for production like traditional egg-based vaccine manufacturing does.
This new way of making flu vaccine is an example of the Obama administration partnering with industry to move innovative technology forward to the market. Our goal in ASPR is to drive innovative development of effective and cost-efficient vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and medical equipment to protect public health during emergencies. Many of these innovations also hold potential day-to-day uses, as is often the case with seasonal and pandemic flu technology.
BARDA also worked with its partners to achieve FDA approval for the first flu vaccine manufactured using a cell-based technology and, through a public-private partnership, opened the first cell-based flu vaccine manufacturing plant in the United States. This past year, BARDA engaged private partners around the country in a new way through three Centers for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing that will support pandemic as well as biodefense readiness.
This HHS record of progress shows the power of public-private partnership. By working together – industry, non-government organizations and all levels of government – we can help save lives, improve public health preparedness and potentially increase health security for our nation. FDA approval of Flublok is an important step toward that goal.