As COVID-19 cases are rising and flu season begins, state and local health officials are urging Alaskans to get vaccinated for influenza and are providing ways for them to do it for free.<\/p>\n
Two vaccine clinics will be open this weekend, on Saturday for older children and adults and on Sunday for those as young as six months and adults.<\/p>\n
On Saturday at Thunder Mountain High School, children ages nine or older and adults can receive free flu vaccines from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, children as young as six months and older and adults can get free vaccines at Floyd Dryden Middle School during the same hours.<\/p>\n
The clinics are a joint effort among Alaska Division of Public Health, Bartlett Regional Hospital, City and Borough of Juneau and Juneau School District, CBJ said in a news release.<\/p>\n
“When people get vaccinated for flu it helps us reduce overall disease,” said Sarah Hargrave, southeast regional nurse manager for Alaska Division of Public Health. “Viral transmission increase during the winter months. What used to be cold and flu season has now become cold, flu and COVID season.”<\/p>\n
As of Thursday afternoon there were no known influenza cases in Juneau, Hargrave said in a phone interview, but that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t get vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend getting a flu shot every year, especially for those over 65 and those with chronic health conditions.<\/p>\n
[Dunleavy says rising case load is manageable<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n The weekend’s flu clinics will serve another purpose as well, Hargrave said. Once a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, federal, state and local health officials will have to work together to distribute it to the public and the flu clinics will provide an opportunity for local health officials to practice, she said.<\/p>\n Fortunately for Alaska, the state has had a vaccine distribution plan in place since 2015, and recently submitted a draft coronavirus vaccine plan to the CDC<\/a>.<\/p>\n Though the flu and COVID-19 may appear similar, state epidemiologist Dr. Joe McLaughlin said in a news conference Thursday, influenza is typically far less severe.<\/p>\n “COVID hospitalizations and deaths are much higher with people who are older and have underlying health conditions,” he said. “There’s a lot of respiratory complications, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome.”<\/p>\n