EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Flu immunization for patients will begin soon at Mayo Clinic Health System in Northwest Wisconsin and all other Mayo Clinic locations.
Patients in Northwest Wisconsin can begin to schedule flu shot appointments using Patient Online Services on the Mayo Clinic website or the Mayo Clinic App starting Sept. 19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over 6 months old be vaccinated for the flu. This recommendation is based on data obtained from more than 50 years of clinical and research experience.
Influenza vaccines — often called flu shots — are vaccines that protect against the four influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Most flu vaccines are administered through an injection, usually in the arm, but there also is a nasal spray.
Vaccination to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications. For example, during 2019-2020, the last flu season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, flu vaccinations prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations and 6,300 influenza-associated deaths.
Flu vaccinations are also an important preventive tool for people with certain chronic health conditions.
Vaccinations have been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who have had a cardiac event in the past year.
Media release from Mayo Clinic Health System.
