Reminder: Now Is the Time to Get a Flu Shot

Flu season runs from October through April, so this is a good time to remind members and their families that flu shots are available at the Union’s Health Centers.

Should you get a flu shot? The answer is “yes,” especially if you fit into one of the following categories:

● If you are 65 years of age or older;

● If you are chronically ill — with a heart, kidney, or lung disorder, for example;

● If you are a diabetic;

● If you are prone to immunosupressions (HIV+ patients and those who are on chemotherapy or steroids).

Of course, anyone else who wishes to reduce his or her risk of getting the flu this year can be vaccinated and should be vaccinated. Flu shots really can be effective in preventing the flu and the vaccines being administered by the Health Centers are the best ones available; they will prevent most strains of the illness.

There are more things you should know. In the past individuals who are allergic to eggs, chicken or thimersol (a preservative often found in contact lens solutions) were told to avoid a flu shot, but that is no longer the case. If you are allergic to eggs, chicken or thimersol the Health Centers have effective flu shots for you. There are some people who should not receive a flu shot: people with a fever, virus or cold should wait until their symptoms have subsided for two weeks before receiving the flu vaccine.

As we report annually, it is important to know that even if you received a flu shot last year you may not be immune to the flu this year. That’s because strains of the illness change from year to year and flu shots have been known to lose their power over a period of time. As we noted, the flu shot being administered at the Health Centers is the best one available because it takes into account recent strains of the illness.

It is also important to remember that flu shots usually take about two weeks to take effect. For this reason it is strongly advised that members be immunized within the next few weeks, instead of waiting until a time when the flu season is in full force.

If you haven’t received your flu shots this year, they are available now, without an appointment, at any of the Union’s four Health Centers: the Midtown Health Center at 773-775 Ninth Avenue (Corner of West 52nd Street, Phone: 212-586-1550); the Harlem Health Center, located at 133 Morningside Ave. (Phone: 212-923-2525); the Queens Health Center, located at 37-11 Queens Blvd. (Phone: 718-361-5100); and the Brooklyn Health Center, 68-80 Schermerhorn Street (Phone: 718-858-7200).

Members who live out-of-area can get free flu shots at any of the four Health Centers. Again, no appointments are necessary.