Town Flu Clinic: 5 Reasons To Go

The Chelmsford Board of Health today will hold its seasonal flu clinic for residents only. The clinic will be from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the

Town Nurse Sue Rosa said there are plenty of good reasons to get the flu shot.

1. You have a chronic illness. Smokers and people with asthma, for example, are more likely to develop pneumonia if they do get the flu.

2. You're six months or older. It's recommended everyone older than six months get the flu shot. Do you really want the aches, pains, fever, and fatigue that the flu brings?

3. You work with kids. Anyone who works with kids, especially infants, could spread the disease to them. Infants can't get the flu shot, so you'll be doing them a favor.

4. You'd prefer to be mildly sick for 24 hours than very ill for seven days. The flu shot does have some potential side affects. The shot contains a dead version of the virus, Rosa said, so your body can make antibodies to fight the flu.

Some people claim they get sick after the shot, Rosa said. Side affects of soreness and swelling can occur, and you might get a fever, fatigue or a headache for 24 hours right after the shot, Rosa said.

"Those are mild problems that can be associated with the flu shot and only last a day or two, so for people who say 'I got sick for 2 weeks,' that’s not it," Rosa said. "You’re not getting anything live, it’s dead. Chances are you were exposed to something before you got the shot. It just happened to coincide, it could have been four or five days before."

5. You're a Chelmsford resident. The town is making the vaccine available to you, so why not get it? Bring your health insurance card so the town can get reimbursed for its supplies.

Bonus: This flu shot protects against three strains of the flu, including H1N1. The flu takes about two weeks to take affect in your system and after that, you'll be flu-free for a year. What a deal.

Eight nurses will be administering the vaccines, and other various volunteers will be helping with paperwork at the clinic.

If you have any questions, call Sue Rosa, nurse at the Board of Health at 978-250-5243.