National Influenza Vaccination Week is December 4 – 8. Seniors, children, Black and Hispanic people are at greatest risk of hospitalization.
(SAVANNAH, GA) Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia are reminding everyone 6 months and older that there’s still time to get a flu vaccine. As administrators of a five-year, $5.1 million Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in September 2023, the organizations are observing National Influenza Vaccination Week from December 4-8, 2023, with an important public message about the availability and accessibility of the flu vaccine.
“As colder weather settles in, holiday travel is taking place and families are gathering, it is important to be aware of flu season,” said Dr. Elsie Smalls, operations manager. “Flu viruses usually spread more rapidly in fall and winter, with peak activity from December through February. National Influenza Vaccination Week is a great opportunity to get your flu vaccine, and this is especially important for pregnant women and their developing babies, children from 6 months through 5 years of age and for certain racial and ethnic groups.”
According to the CDC, Black and Hispanic people have had consistently higher rates of severe flu outcomes, including hospitalization and ICU admission. Compared with white people, flu hospitalization rates from 2009-2019 were nearly two times higher among Black persons and 1.2 times higher among Hispanic or Latino persons.
“Most of us know the flu can make you sick, but it can also cause life-threatening complications for people who are older than 65; people with conditions like diabetes, lung or heart disease; and those with liver, blood, metabolic, and immune system disorders,” said Nichele Hoskins, communication manager. “Getting the flu vaccine, along with handwashing, avoiding others when sick, and masking, are important steps to protect against the flu, and studies show this is particularly important if you’re pregnant.”
A 2013 study by the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal showed that during the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 flu seasons, vaccination reduced the risk of flu in pregnant people by up to one-half. A 2018 study further showed that getting a flu shot reduced a pregnant person’s risk of being hospitalized with flu by an average of 40%.
“Getting the flu shot while pregnant helps protect babies from the flu for the first several months after their birth when they are too young to get vaccinated,” said Hoskins.
Flu viruses are constantly changing and since protection from vaccination decreases over time, Healthy Savannah and the “Y” want to remind residents of Savannah’s low-income communities, in particular, to get a flu vaccine every year.
“Flu vaccines are the only vaccines that protect against flu and are proven to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death,” said Smalls. “More good news is that you may be able to get the flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines at the same time.”
The CDC recently reported scientific studies during the last three years indicate that it is safe to get both a flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit. Coadministration of flu vaccines and the new RSV vaccines was also found to be safe in clinical trials. While there is no clinical trial data on getting all three vaccines at the same time, the CDC is continuing to monitor the safety of RSV vaccines, as it does for all vaccines.
“Together, we can use National Influenza Vaccination Week as a call to action to encourage everyone 6 months and older to get all of their recommended vaccines, especially people at higher risk,” said Hoskins.
Hoskins says free COVID-19 vaccines are now available to the uninsured and underinsured through the CDC’s Bridge Access Program. Local providers offering the no-cost vaccines include the Coastal Health District’s Eisenhower Clinic, J. C. Lewis Primary Health Care and select CVS and Walgreens branches.
The Department of Health is also offering free test kits – one for COVID, and one for influenza – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at testing kiosks throughout the Coastal Health District. Pre-registration is not required but is available at https://register3.testandgo.com/.
The REACH team will share additional information about the availability of free and low-cost flu and COVID-19 vaccines during an upcoming training session for Community Health Advocates (CHAs) at 6 p.m. on Nov. 30. The event is free and funded under the REACH grant to help improve health, prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities among Black and Hispanic populations in Savannah and Chatham County’s low-wealth neighborhoods. To learn more or register, please email CHAadmin@healthysavannah.org.
Find a flu vaccine near you at https://www.vaccines.gov/find-vaccines/. For more information about REACH grant-funded adult immunization initiatives in Savannah and Chatham County, visit https://healthysavannah.org/adult-immunization/.
ABOUT THE YMCA OF COASTAL GEORGIA/HEALTHY SAVANNAH GRANT FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH:
In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a second grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) to Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. $5.1 million in funding is being deployed over a five-year period to be utilized in an “upstream” approach to foster sustainable health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations in low-wealth neighborhoods in areas of nutrition, physical activity and the reduction of chronic diseases. The renewed funding enables work to continue which began under the initial, five-year, $3.4 million REACH grant awarded in 2018, and a supplemental grant awarded in 2021 to increase awareness and acceptance of COVID-19 and flu adult immunizations. Working with more than 200 community partners and organizations, the Savannah/Chatham County project team’s specific goals in implementing the new five-year grant include fostering physical activity by creating greater access to safe places to walk, run, bike and play; elevating the health and wellness of the community through policy, systems, and environmental change; and providing education and awareness regarding adult immunizations, especially as they relate to health disparities in chronic conditions of hypertension, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity. The administrators will also continue to foster stronger connections between people and the healthcare providers who serve them by supporting awareness and use of the HERO Help Me database. In July 2022, Healthy Savannah received the CDC’s 2022 REACH Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award for Advancing Health Equity Challenge. The award recognizes extraordinary individuals and entities whose work has contributed to advancing health equity.
healthysavannah.org ymcaofcoastalga.org.
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