Make an appointment TODAY for the 2023 flu shot clinic hosted by Transylvania Public Health!

The single best way to help prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccination. And the ideal time to get one is in October. This ensures that you will have the best protection throughout the flu season, which typically lasts from late November through March.

Transylvania Public Health will be offering flu shots to the general public by appointment only on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023 from 2 p.m. to 4:30p.m. and Monday, October 9, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Both regular flu vaccines (for ages 6 months and up) and high-dose vaccines (recommended for people over age 65) will be administered by trained public health nurses. Starting October 10, flu vaccines will also be available by appointment in our offices: please call (828) 884-3135 to schedule.

Click Here to Schedule Your Appointment

Please arrive at your scheduled appointment time, not earlier. Be sure to wear a short-sleeved shirt. Please bring your insurance card.

Flu shots cost $41, but most insurance plans cover flu vaccines at 100 percent, and children ages 6 months to 18 years with no insurance can receive flu vaccine at no cost. Transylvania Public Health can file an insurance claim directly with Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (with any provider), NC Health Choice, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cigna. For people who do not have health insurance or those who have a different private insurance carrier, payment must be received before the flu vaccine can be given. We will accept payment on the day of the flu shot clinic via cash (exact change only) or check made payable to Transylvania Public Health. You can also pre-pay using a credit card or debit card over the phone by calling (828) 884-3135. We will provide a receipt for you to claim reimbursement from your insurance carrier. Please note that other insurance carriers consider Transylvania Public Health to be an out-of-network provider.

The flu is a serious illness that can cause fever, headache, extreme tiredness and body aches lasting for a week or more. Flu is contagious and complications can be serious, especially in young children, older adults and people with certain medical conditions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that all people ages 6 months and up be vaccinated against the flu each year. The seasonal flu shot protects against the three or four influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Even in years when the shot is not a great match for the flu strain that’s currently circulating, it still provides protection against more severe symptoms.

The flu vaccine cannot give you the flu. The vaccines either contain inactivated virus that cannot infect people, or a single protein from the flu virus. These cause your immune system to begin creating antibodies that protect you against getting sick when you are exposed to a “real” flu virus.

You may experience some mild symptoms as your immune system responds to the vaccine by creating antibodies against the virus. Serious allergic reactions to flu vaccines are very rare and usually occur minutes to hours after receiving the vaccine. The most common side effects from flu shots are soreness, redness, tenderness or swelling where the shot was given.

It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against flu to develop in the body, so it’s important to get vaccinated now, before the flu begins circulating in your community. Even if you’re not fully protected when you get exposed to a flu virus, the vaccine can still help make your illness shorter and less severe.

Vaccination to prevent influenza is particularly important for people who are at high risk of serious complications, including children younger than 5 and especially children younger than 2 years old, adults 65 years of age and older, women who are pregnant or have recently given birth, residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, American Indians and Alaskan Natives and people who have medical conditions such as asthma, lung disease, heart disease, diabetes or a weakened immune system due to disease or medication.

Transylvania Public Health encourages older adults to request a “high-dose” flu vaccine, which are specifically designed for people 65 years and older.

Human immune defenses become weaker with age, which places older people at greater risk of severe illness from influenza. Also, aging decreases the body’s ability to have a good immune response after getting influenza vaccine. High-dose vaccine contains four times the amount of antigen (the part of the vaccine that prompts the body to make antibody) contained in regular flu shots. A higher dose of antigen in the vaccine is supposed to give older people a better immune response, and therefore, better protection against flu.

For questions, please call Transylvania Public Health at (828) 884-3135.