Get A Free Flu Shot This Week
Free vaccinations available on Wednesday and Thursday.
Zablocki Community School. Photo from MPS.
If you still haven’t gotten your flu shot this year, there are two opportunities to get one for free.
On Wednesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the City of Milwaukee Health Department, in partnership with Children’s Wisconsin and Children’s Community Health Plan will be providing free flu vaccines, no appointment or insurance necessary.
On Wednesday, nurses will be on site at Anna F. Doerfler Elementary School, 3014 W. Scott St.. And on Thursday, they will be administering the shots at Zablocki Community School – 1016 W. Oklahoma Ave.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone 6 months and older receive a flu shot annually. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Getting a flu shot and protecting your health are more important than ever this year,” said Mayor Tom Barrett at a press briefing Tuesday.
During normal years, hospitals and emergency departments typically see patients come in with severe cases of influenza. But with COVID-19 raging in Milwaukee County and across the state, hospital systems are already being inundated with patients at an ever increasing rate.
There are currently more COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the county than at any other time during the pandemic, said Dr. Ben Weston, director of medical services for the county. “No hospital can keep up with caring for patients on this worsening current trajectory,” he said.
“Getting the flu vaccination has a positive domino effect: it contributes to an individual’s health which in turn helps the overall health of the community and helps lower the risk of hospitalization,” said Mark Rakowski, chief operating officer of Children’s Community Health Plan, in a statement released last week.
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