Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Drive-Through Flu Shot Clinic

The symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 can look alike:  fever, chills, coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, muscle pain or body aches, and headaches.  If a person develops these symptoms, they will need to be tested for COVID-19.  The folks at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic remind us that if more people get their flu shots and help prevent the flu from spreading, we’ll have fewer people with these symptoms, then fewer people will require COVID-19 testing, and, ultimately, fewer people will require medical care.  This saves the medical resources for the people that need them the most, such as people that are at higher risk from flu complications (children under age 2, people that are over 65, people that are pregnant, or those that have chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or cancer).  

You are more likely to catch the flu if you don’t get the vaccine, but you can’t catch the flu from the vaccine.   The viruses that are used to make the vaccine have either been killed or deconstructed.  It is possible, though, to be infected with the flu immediately before or right after getting the shot.  It takes a couple of weeks for the protection from the vaccine to kick in, so it’s a good idea to get your shot earlier, rather than later.  The doctors at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic recommend getting vaccinated in September this year.