As a father and a physician, one of the most important things on my to-do list at this time of the year is to get a flu shot and to encourage those around me to do the same.
Influenza – which is commonly called the flu – is a respiratory illness with coughing, congestion, fever, aches and pains. The Centers for Disease Control recommends everyone over the age of 6 months get vaccinated against influenza.
If your child has never had the flu, it’s misery. He or she will miss a week of school (and you’ll probably miss work taking care of them). Your child will be feverish, coughing, complaining of aches and pains and feel awful, but there will be little you can do to help him or her feel better. I know firsthand that helpless feeling parents get when their kids are sick and all you can offer is some snuggling on the couch.
Influenza is a serious illness and complications can develop. People wind up in the hospital every year because of the flu and unfortunately some people even die from it.
Getting vaccinated not only protects your child, it also slows the spread of influenza in the community, which is especially helpful to people, including infants or those with compromised immune systems, who cannot receive the vaccination.
Don’t wait to get your child vaccinated since it takes about two weeks after receiving it for him or her to be fully protected. Since no one knows when the flu will arrive locally – it could come as early as October or November – it’s important to get the shot now rather than waiting.
There are multiple options for you and your family to protect yourself. Patients can call their ThedaCare Physician office to schedule an appointment to receive their vaccination. The staff will handle insurance billing and add any shots patients receive into their electronic medical record.
Patients can also walk into one of the two FastCare Clinics, which are in the Shopko in north Appleton and the Shopko Express in Darboy. FastCare will handle the insurance billing and if needed medical records of ThedaCare patients will be updated. FastCare can only administer flu shots to patients who are 3 years or older.
If your child doesn’t want a shot, ThedaCare Physicians and FastCare also offer FluMist, a nasal spray flu vaccine for patients ages 2 to 49. The FluMist may not be appropriate for all patients in that age range depending on some health restrictions.
Once you get your child vaccinated, I encourage you to share on social media using #igottheshot, even adding the why – for their family, friends, co-workers or the community. The hope is people will notice their friends and family members getting vaccinated and then do the same.
As for me, #igottheshot for my children, patients and community.
Luke Tremble, MD, is a pediatrician with ThedaCare Physicians-Pediatrics in Appleton.
