Maryland Community Newspapers Online
Adventist HealthCare administrators and county officials got a dose of their own medicine Monday afternoon at the launch of "Take Your Shot for Health," a campaign promoting flu shots.
At a press conference in front of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville, officials rolled up their sleeves and received their shots for the season.
"I get one every year," said William G. Robertson, president and CEO of Adventist HealthCare, parent company of the hospital. "It's an every-year deal, unlike some vaccines we receive in our lives."
Adventist partnered with the Washington Wizards, Montgomery County, M&T Bank and WTOP radio to help provide affordable flu shots to county residents.
Each year, seasonal influenza, or "the flu," results in about 150,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths.
A mismatch between the vaccine in the flu shots and the flu strains that affected the community made 2007-2008 a particularly rough season in the Washington, D.C., area, Shady Grove officials said.
Charles L. Short, special assistant to County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), also received a flu shot Monday.
"The week of misery associated with the flu is much worse than that split second of the needle," he said.
He said he has been vaccinated every year since 1992 when he got a bad case of the virus.
"Once was all it took for me to say never again," Short said.
One group that can be particularly impacted by the flu is children, medical experts say. This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends flu shots for children between six months and 18 years.
"Flu shots are particularly important for children who are six months to 4 years because their immune systems are still developing and they can't always fight off the more serious side effects of the flu," said Dr. Gaurov Dayal, a pediatrician and chief medical officer at Shady Grove.
Others in the high-risk bracket include people over 50, children between six months and 2 years, woman who are pregnant, healthcare workers, anyone living in a long-term care facility, daycare providers and anyone with chronic heart, lung or kidney conditions, diabetes or a weakened immune system.
Take Your Shot for Health will feature community drive-through flu shot clinics offered by Montgomery County on Oct. 27 at the Shady Grove Adventist Emergency Center in Germantown and Oct. 29 at the Orchard Shopping Center in White Oak.
Stationary clinics will also be available.
The clinics will offer flu shots, provided by Adventist HealthCare medical staff, to community members from the convenience of their cars. Shots cost $27 each.
The CDC estimates that more than 25 million people in the United States are infected with the influenza virus each year. Take Your Shot for Health hopes to provide 15,000 shots to the community this year.
For more information on Take Your Shot for Health or where to get a flu shot this season, visit www.takeyourflushot.com.
