Braintree Hosting 3 Seasonal Flu Clinics In November

Braintree MA

01 November, 2021

2:41 PM

Description

BRAINTREE, MA — Are you still looking to get your flu shot? The Braintree Health Department is offering three vaccination clinics in November. From 10 a.m. to noon on the following Wednesdays, flu shots will be available in the Public Health Nurse's Office in the lower level of Town Hall. Nov. 3Nov. 10Nov. 17The cost is free to Braintree residents 18 years of age and older. Residents are requested to bring their Health Insurance Cards. The 2020-21 flu season is the second Massachusetts residents have faced while also fighting the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict that during this flu season, both viruses will once again be spreading at the same time. Influenza, commonly called "the flu," is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can lead to serious illness, hospitalization or even death. Typical flu symptoms include fever, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. Flu symptoms are similar to those of COVID-19, though they usually appear more quickly. If you get tested for the flu this season, you may also have to get tested for COVID-19.While the flu typically infects tens of millions of people each year, the 2019-20 flu season was an anomaly. Flu activity was unusually low last flu season in the United States despite high levels of testing. Between Sept. 28, 2020, and May 22, 2021, only 1,675 — or 0.2 percent — of 818,939 respiratory specimens tested by U.S. clinical laboratories were positive for an influenza virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, the 2019–20 flu season caused approximately 35 million flu-related illnesses, 16 million flu-related medical visits, 380,000 flu-related hospitalizations, and 20,000 flu-related deaths, according to CDC data. The reason for the historically low numbers was likely COVID-19 mitigation measures such as wearing face masks, hand-washing, school closures and physical distancing.Despite last year's low numbers, annual flu vaccination is still recommended for everyone 6 months and older. There are a few exceptions. To date, more than 100 million Americans have gotten their flu shots, according to the CDC.