Flu shots now available for people in low risk groups

Flu shots now available for people in low risk groups

February 10, 2005

By TEARSA SMITH
6 News Anchor/Reporter

CLINTON (WATE) -- Flu shots, once reserved for people in high-risk categories, are now available for anyone, thanks to the Anderson County Health Department.

A cold morning and snow flurries Thursday didn't keep people from waiting outside for a flu shot.

"We had a calling list. We called people to have them come in for appointments. We've already given close to 2,500 shots that way," says the health department's Art Miller.

Those shots were for people in high risk categories. But with hundreds of doses left, the county opened a mass clinic.

Still, the nearly 250 people who showed up Thursday morning mostly fit in high risk groups.

Eighty-six-year-old C.R. Clough says, "My daughter lives in Texas, says, 'We've got them down here. You can come on down here and get all you want.' I said, 'Well I'm not coming down there just for a flu shot.'"

Nursing supervisor Betty Dick gave out shots all morning Thursday. She says she was a little surprised that more low-risk people didn't show up. "The demand has died down for a couple of reasons. For one, people have decided that they aren't going to take it. Or two, they've gotten it someplace else."

Also, some people feel it's too late to get a shot but Nancy Dick says it isn't.

To find out if more doses are available, call the Anderson County Health Department's office in Oak Ridge at (865)-482-0070 for an appointment.

Flu protection develops about two weeks after getting a shot and lasts up to a year.

Typically in the U.S., the peak of flu season can occur anytime from late December through March.