Get Your Flu Shot, New City: First Fall Clinic Scheduled in Rockland

The first Rockland County Health Department flu vaccine clinic of the season will be held from 1-4 p.m. Sept. 16 in Pomona.

It will take place at the Robert Yeager Health Center, Building A, second floor rotunda clinic area, located on Sanatorium Road in Pomona. Additional flu vaccine clinics will be held on Sept. 23 and 30, and on Oct. 7, 14, 21, and 28, at the same location and time.

Everyone 6 months of age and older should get the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available each year, health officials said. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against the flu virus. In the meantime, you are still at risk for getting the flu. That's why it's better to get vaccinated early in the fall, before the flu season really gets under way. The protection you get from the vaccine will last throughout the season.

The flu is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death.

"Getting the flu vaccine is the main way to prevent the flu and its complications," said Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.

Even healthy people can get very sick from the flu and spread it to others.

The Health Department offers the flu vaccine to residents 9 years and older; no appointments are needed.

There is a $30 fee for those 9 through 64 years old. The vaccine is free of charge to adults 65 years and older (please bring identification with proof of age).

Patients with Medicare and Medicaid must bring their cards. Each patient must bring proof of Rockland County residency such as a driver's license or utility bill.

The Health Department will be giving the quadrivalent flu vaccine which does not contain the preservative thimerosal. The vaccine is called quadrivalent because it offers protection against four different flu viruses that research shows will be most common during this flu season: two influenza (flu) A viruses and two influenza B viruses.

It is recommended that you wait for 15 minutes after being vaccinated so you can be observed for any reactions.

Talk to your doctor before getting the flu shot if you have an allergy to eggs or any of the ingredients in the vaccine (talk to your doctor about your allergy); and if you are not feeling well (talk to your doctor about your symptoms).

As the Health Department receives more shipments of the vaccine, additional flu vaccine clinics will be scheduled. For more information about the flu and the flu vaccine clinics visit http://bit.ly/2c154Bj or call (845) 364 - 2520.

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