Flu vaccinations
Get your flu shot each year
The flu virus can change from season to season. To get the best protection, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a seasonal flu vaccine every year.
If you see an SSM Health provider
Schedule your flu vaccination through MyChart or call 1-877-277-3326.
If you see a non-SSM Health provider
Contact your Primary Care Physician (PCP) or get your vaccination at a pharmacy. If you receive pharmacy benefits through another carrier, be sure to confirm insurance coverage for any vaccine provided at your pharmacy. See our reimbursement form.
Seasonal flu updates
You can receive either the injectable flu vaccine or the FluMist vaccine. FluMist is given to you through a nasal spray. Both versions are covered benefits this year.
Visit CDC.gov/Flu for the latest information on the seasonal flu—including, how to prevent, symptoms and diagnosis, and treatment.
Ages 65 + over
In addition to the seasonal flu vaccine, we are offering a high-dose flu vaccine (Fluzone high-dose) specifically created for adults 65 and over to better protect them from seasonal influenza.
According to the CDC, flu vaccines have a good safety record. Hundreds of millions of Americans have safely received flu vaccines over the past 50 years, and there has been extensive research supporting the safety of flu vaccines.
Many patients with flu-like symptoms do not need to visit their doctor. You should call your primary care provider if you are experiencing the following:
- A fever higher than 101.5 degrees (for adults)
- A fever higher than 101.9 degrees (for children)
- You are pregnant or have any other chronic health condition
- The patient is under age 2 or over age 65
If you have the flu, isolate yourself from others over the next 2-4 days and drink plenty of clear fluids. You may want to take acetaminophen to help lower the fever.
If you are experiencing a fever along with a sore throat, cough, or runny nose, and you have a chronic health condition; please call your primary clinic.
Antiviral drugs can lesson symptoms and shorten the time you are sick by 1 or 2 days and prevent serious complications. These are prescription medications. If you are sick with the flu, contact your primary care provider promptly to see if these are an option.
The primary way to avoid getting sick is to wash your hands often with soap and water, especially before eating. Hand sanitizers are also effective.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread that way.
- Avoid close contact with other people with flu-like symptoms.
- Teach your children these safety tips.
- It is approved by the FDA for use in people 65 years of age or older and uses a higher dose to induce a stronger immune response. This should better protect older adults from seasonal influenza.
- According to the CDC, it’s estimated that between 70 percent and 90 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths have occurred in people 65 years and older and between 50 percent and 70 percent of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations have occurred among people in that age group.
- It is just as safe as the standard seasonal flu vaccine. Non-serious side effects at the injection site (pain, swelling and redness) were more common because it is a higher-dose or higher-antigen vaccine. However, the side effects were still mild to moderate.
- Serious adverse events (myalgia, malaise, headache, and fever) were comparable to standard seasonal flu vaccine.
- All children aged 6 months - 18 years
- Adults aged 50 and older
- Pregnant women or women who will be pregnant during the flu season
- Individuals with a chronic disease such as diabetes or other conditions affecting the lungs, heart, blood, kidneys, liver, or immune system