Free flu vaccines for residents Nov. 12

DOWNEY - The City of Downey and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will offer free flu vaccinations on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 9 a.m. -1 p.m.The event will be held at the Downey Theater with seasonal flu vaccine for all ages. The working configuration of the clinic will be similar to the flu vaccinations held last year. Staff members from the city, the Department of Public Health, Rio Hondo College and volunteers are working on the final plans for the event. Last year, more than 1,000 seasonal flu vaccinations were administered at a similar event. The following individuals are considered to be especially high risk for complications from influenza: •Children ages 6 months to 4 years and their household contacts and caregivers •Adults over 50 years old • Health-care personnel •Pregnant women •Those with chronic health problems (pulmonary, cardiovascular, etc) and their caregivers -Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities and their caregivers Flu vaccinations are one method of reducing the number of cases of seasonal flu. Reducing the number of cases of the flu lowers the health risk for some 'at-risk' populations (seniors, young children, and people with chronic health problems). Fewer cases of the flu also lower the number of emergency calls for service and the number of hospital visits because of flu type problems. Typically, flu season is one of the busiest times of the year for local hospitals and for the fire departments. Some of the other ways we can lower our risk of contracting the seasonal flu are: •washing hands with soap •keeping unwashed hands away from eyes, mouth and nose • coughing and/or sneezing into the fold of your elbow •coughing or sneezing into a tissue and disposing of tissue into a trash can Questions or comments can be sent to ready@downeyca.org.

********** Published: October 27, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 28