Photo courtesy of Montefiore Health System
On Sept. 18, Congress Member Adriano Espaillat, Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz and Council Member Andy Cohen joined Montefiore Health System for a community flu shot event at Mosholu Montefiore Community Center.
Congressman Adriano Espaillat received his shot on-site. Montefiore, Duane Reade and Walgreens are working together to keep Bronxites healthy this flu season by offering low to no-cost flu shots where community members live, work, and play.
According to Montefiore Heath System, the following are the top concerns Bronx residents have shared about getting a seasonal flu (influenza) vaccination, as well as the facts on why everyone six months and older should get a flu shot each year.
“Seasonal flu vaccines are safe and the most effective way to protect yourself against getting sick.
1. The Belief that the Flu Shot Isn’t Effective
While the flu vaccine is never 100 percent effective, it does have the following very important benefits:
• Flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick from flu.
• Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalizations, including among children and older adults.
• Flu vaccination is an important preventive tool for people with certain health conditions such as:
» Asthma
» Heart, kidney or liver disease
» Blood disorders, such as sickle cell anemia
» Weakened immune system, from illness or medication
» Neuromuscular disorders that interfere with breathing or the discharge of mucus
» Long-term aspirin therapy in people under 19
» Obesity (a body mass index of 40 and over)
• Flu vaccination helps protect women during and after pregnancy.
• Getting vaccinated yourself also protects people around you, like babies, young children, older people and people with certain chronic health conditions.
Photo courtesy of Montefiore Health System
2. The Fear of Potential Side Effects
• You may experience some mild symptoms, such as soreness where the shot was given, but serious complications are rare. The symptoms are usually quite mild compared to how sick you would feel if you developed the actual flu.
• It can take your body about two weeks to fully develop immunity (or protection) from the vaccine, so if you get the flu within a few days of getting the flu shot, you were exposed to the flu before the vaccine could take effect. If you do end up getting the flu more than two weeks after you’ve gotten the shot, you will likely have a much milder case.
3. The Belief That Flu Vaccination Is Being Driven by Financial Interests
The flu causes everyday people to lose time—away from their families, away from school and away from work. The flu even costs some people their lives. According to the CDC:
• The direct cost of flu season hospitalizations and outpatient care in the United States is approximately $10.4 billion.
• Each year, flu causes United States employees to miss approximately 17 million work days, at an estimated $7 billion in sick days and lost productivity.
• Children with the flu may miss up to a week of school and experience lingering symptoms for more than 2 weeks.
• In the 2017–2018 flu season, as many as 79,000 people may have died. It was the second-deadliest flu season for children since the CDC began tracking pediatric-flu deaths 14 years ago.
Photo courtesy of Montefiore Health System
Here is some other important info we want to share about getting the flu vaccine.
To Protect Yourself and Others:
• Wash your hands with soap and water (or alcohol-based hand sanitizer) frequently.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, not your hands.
• If you are sick with flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, achiness), stay out of school or work until you are fever-free for 24 hours.
• If your flu symptoms are bad, call your doctor or go to an urgent care center to see if an anti-viral medicine may help. Avoid going to the emergency room unless it is a true emergency. • Ensure you and your family members get the flu vaccine every year.
What are flu symptoms? Flu symptoms can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, low energy, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children than adults). Some people with the flu will not have a fever.
Where Can I Get a Flu Shot?
• Your primary care provider (many providers offer a fast track for flu vaccination visits). If you are a Montefiore patient, call or visit your preferred Montefiore Medical Group (MMG) site to find out more or schedule your shot.
• Retail outlets that offer flu vaccines.
• Flu drives being held in your community at community centers, places of worship, etc.
Make sure you do your part by getting yourself and your family vaccinated! Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same — together, we can stop the spread of flu in the Bronx this season.
To find a Montefiore community flu vaccine event near you, call 347-418-4737.”
admin
Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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