FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2020
Free Flu Shots Continue at Fairgrounds in San José Saturdays through December 12
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA. – The County of Santa Clara will continue providing free, no-appointment flu shots to the public at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds every Saturday through December 12. Since mid-September, more than 7,100 people have been vaccinated, a vaccination number almost 10 times greater than the total in 2019 at similar events.
"This high demand for flu shots shows that communities are responding to the call to get vaccinated for influenza to protect themselves and their family,” said Dr. Sara Cody, County of Santa Clara Health Officer. “Flu shots are a safe and effective way to protect yourself against severe flu. There has never been a more important time to get a flu shot."
Every person aged 6 months and older needs the flu vaccine, every year. This is especially true this year, with COVID-19 also circulating widely in Santa Clara County, and Health Officers around the Bay Area have appealed to the public to get flu shots.
Free Flu Shots at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds
Saturday, October 31, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Car entrance for general parking: Gate D, 2542 Monterey Road, San José, CA 95111
Pedestrian entrance and drive-through service for the disabled: Gate B, 344 Tully Road, San José, CA 95111
Free flu shots are available at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 31, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., continuing Saturdays until December 12. No appointment is needed. No health insurance is needed. Attendees are not asked for identification documents, and everyone is welcome regardless of immigration status. Services are offered in many languages, including Vietnamese and Spanish. Everyone three years and older can get a free flu shot at this location. Children younger than three years should get shots from their pediatrician.
Beyond the special Saturday events, County pharmacies at Valley Health Center facilities have already given flu shots on weekdays to an additional 6,400 members of the public in fall 2020, people collecting prescriptions and other members of the public. Additionally, Valley Medical Center Employee Health vaccinates thousands of health care staff employed by the County, who, like other health care personnel, are generally required to get a flu shot each year. Free flu vaccines are also distributed each year to non-profit organizations and other local public agency providers serving uninsured and underserved patients by the County Public Health Department, which receives them from the State of California.
It is important to get a new flu vaccine each year. The flu vaccine offers protection for many months, but not forever. Also, the strains of influenza circulating in the community change over time, and the current vaccine offers protection against those strains.
While the flu vaccine is recommended for everyone six months and older, it is especially important for pregnant women, children younger than five, adults 65 and older, and those with chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease, asthma, and diabetes. People who live in the same household with someone at high risk can help protect that person from severe flu by getting a flu shot.
Each winter, people sick with flu crowd hospitals and urgent care clinics, resources that may be strained due to COVID-19. Early and timely flu shots can prevent a disease that hospitalizes 200,000 Americans every year.
For those with insurance, under the Affordable Care Act, a flu shot is available without cost as a preventive service from your regular doctor and most pharmacies. For those without health insurance, or anyone who finds it more convenient, free community clinics and the County offer many opportunities to get a free flu shot.
For more information, visit sccphd.org/flu, also available in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese. Find more locations near you that offer flu vaccine using the Vaccine Finder or telephone 2-1-1.
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