Flu season will be different this year as everyone deals with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that influenza sickens millions of people in the United States every year. The very young, the elderly, and people with underlying medical conditions are the most vulnerable. When combined with the risk of COVID-19 exposure, the CDC says it is more important than ever to get a flu shot.
Patient First offers flu shots from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day through its Fast Track flu shot program. With Fast Track flu shots, individuals can walk into any Patient First urgent care center without an appointment, undergo a shortened registration process, receive their vaccination, and be on their way. Fast Track flu shots are available for those who do not wish to be seen by a physician.
The CDC recommends that people be vaccinated early in the fall, before flu season begins in their community, and ideally no later than the end of October. A flu shot will not protect individuals from COVID-19, but it will decrease the risk of having both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. A flu shot is one more way to keep people healthy during this pandemic, along with social distancing, thoroughly washing hands, and wearing face masks.
The CDC urges everyone over age 6 months to be vaccinated against the flu, including pregnant women. Patient First offers two types of flu shots, including seasonal flu shots and high-dose flu shots. Seasonal flu shots offer protection against four types of influenza viruses and are available to patients age 3 and older. High-dose flu shots are available to patients age 65 and older and offer protection against the same four strains as the seasonal shots.
The flu and COVID-19 share similar symptoms. Common symptoms include fever or feeling feverish or having the chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle pain or body aches, and headache.
There are also differences between symptoms of the flu and COVID-19. New loss of taste or smell has been associated with COVID-19, but not the flu. The flu is more likely to appear with a sudden onset of illness, high fever, headache, and body aches, and flu symptoms appear one to four days after infection. COVID-19 symptoms may appear with a more gradual onset of illness, mild headache, body aches, and mild or no fever. COVID-19 symptoms appear 2 to 14 days after infection.
There are no out-of-pocket costs for flu shots with most insurance plans. There is a self-pay cost for the seasonal flu shot for individuals without health insurance. For more information, readers may visit http://www.patientfirst.com.
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