Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Blog

To prevent a “twindemic” of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, San Mateo County Health is urging everyone over the age of 6 months to get a flu shot to protect themselves and their loved ones. Flu vaccination is part of a comprehensive public health strategy not only to reduce the burden of flu but also to preserve health care resources for care of patients with COVID-19.

• Older adults, pregnant women, young adults, children, and people with other underlying health conditions are most at risk of getting the flu, but everyone six months and older should get vaccinated.
• It takes two weeks after being immunized to be fully protected, so it’s best not to delay getting a shot. The vaccine only keeps you fully protected for about one year, so it’s important to get vaccinated every year.

You can get flu shots at:

• Your doctor’s office
• Retail pharmacies and stores (call first to check vaccine availability)
  Click here for locations: https://vaccinefinder.org/
• A free flu clinic in San Mateo County:
  2020-21 Free flu vaccine clinic locations
  2020-21 Lugares por vacuna contra la gripe

Home-bound patients who need flu shots should call 1-800-675-8437.

Flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue. There are other viruses that can cause these symptoms, but a high fever and bad cough usually indicate flu.

Please see https://www.smchealth.org/flu for details.