Ocean County Flu Vaccine Clinic Schedule 2021: Remaining Dates

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Ocean County Health Department has announced its annual flu clinic schedule, with more than 40 pop-up clinics and fixed sites, officials said.

"The Ocean County Health Department is fully prepared once again for the upcoming influenza season with an abundance of vaccine available and with dozens of clinic locations covering the entire county to accommodate our residents," said Gerry P. Little, Ocean County Commissioner Deputy Director, and liaison to the Ocean County Board of Health.

Not sure if you should get a flu shot? Here's who should get vaccinated, according to the health department:

• All people 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated against seasonal flu every year.
• Children younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu illness but are too young to be vaccinated. People who care for them should be vaccinated instead.
• Vaccination is especially important for pregnant women and people with chronic diseases.
• The flu vaccine protects against several different flu viruses (strains). Flu vaccines are updated every year to better match the viruses circulating in the public.
• Getting the flu vaccine cannot give you the flu! The vaccine is made with inactive (killed) virus strains which are not infectious.

What are some key reasons to get a flu vaccine?

• Every year, flu vaccination prevents illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths.
• Flu vaccination also is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions. For example, flu vaccination has been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among in people with heart disease.
• Vaccinating pregnant women helps protect them from flu illness and hospitalization, and also has been shown to help protect the baby from flu infection for several months after birth, before the baby can be vaccinated.
• A 2017 study showed the flu vaccine can be life-saving in children.
• While some people who get vaccinated still get sick, flu vaccination has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness.

"One of the biggest differences from last flu season is that the flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time as opposed to having to wait 14 days between shots," said Daniel Regenye, the health department's public health coordinator. "Now people can get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines at the same visit. Experience with other vaccines has shown that the ways our bodies develop protection, known as an immune response, after getting vaccinated and possible side effects of vaccines are generally the same when given alone or with other vaccines."

It’s the second year the flu season will merge with the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

The county health department said the "twindemic" that some were anticipating last year never materialized, and public health officials attribute that to the flu vaccination combined with COVID-19 mitigation measures such as wearing face masks, staying home, hand washing, school closures, reduced travel, increased facility ventilation and social distancing.

From Sept. 28, 2020, to May 22, 2021, in the United States, 1,675 (0.2 percent) of 818,939 respiratory specimens tested by U.S. clinical laboratories were positive for an influenza virus, according to the CDC. During the last three seasons before the pandemic, the proportion of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza peaked between 26.2 percent and 30.3 percent. The cumulative rate of laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations in the 2020-2021 season was the lowest recorded since this type of data collection began in 2005.

There was just one child who died of the flu during the 2020–2021 flu season, the CDC said. Since flu deaths in children became nationally notifiable in 2004, reported flu deaths in children had previously ranged from a low of 37 (during 2011-2012) to a high of 199 (during 2019-2020), the CDC said.

Influenza vaccination may also have contributed to reduced flu illness during the 2020–2021 season; there were 193.8 million doses, the highest number ever, distributed in the U.S. during 2020-2021.

The Ocean County Health Department also is offering the flu and COVID-19 vaccines to those individuals restricted to their home via the Home Bound Vaccination Program. Residents can set up an appointment by calling 732-341-9700, ext. 7304.

Residents can make appointments for the flu vaccine clinic on the health department website. Here are the remaining clinic dates, as of Oct. 26:

• Oct. 27: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Point Boro Fire House, 175 Laurel Ave., Point Boro
• Nov. 3: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Toms River Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River
• Nov. 3: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Ocean Acres Community Center, 489 Nautilus Drive, Manahawkin
• Nov. 4: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Brick Library, 301 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick
• Nov. 6: 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Lady of Guadalupe Church, 1141 East County Line Rd, Lakewood
• Nov. 7: 8 a.m.-1 p.m., St. Pius Church, 300 Lacey Road, Forked River
• Nov. 8: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Cassville Fire House, 785 Miller Ave, Jackson
• Nov. 9: 4 p.m.,-7 p.m., Greenbriar Woodlands Clubhouse, 1 Kensington Circle, Toms River
• Nov. 9: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Holiday City South Club House, 139 Santiago Drive, Berkeley
• Nov. 10: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Thornton Recreation Center, 319 W. Calabrese Way, Mystic Island
• Nov. 12: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., St. Mary’s Church, 804 Bay Ave., Point Pleasant Beach
• Nov. 16: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Lacey Community Center, 15 East Lacey Road, Forked River
• Nov. 17: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Brick Senior Center, 373 Adamston Road, Brick
• Nov. 21: 10 a.m.-noon, Lacey United Methodist Church, 203 Lacey Road, Forked River
• Dec. 2: 3 p.m.-7 p.m., Thornton Community Center, 319 W. Calabrese Way, Mystic Island

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com