Extra flu clinic to be held for children

Wrangell’s annual flu clinic may have set an attendance record last week.

By the end of Sept. 30 inoculators had tallied 183 residents, who each received vaccinations for this year’s influenza season.

Sponsored by Wrangell Medical Center, the annual clinic is held in order to encourage people to protect themselves from flu before the bug becomes prevalent. Costs for the shots are scaled back as an incentive, with patients given the choice of the standard vaccination or a high dosage variety.

The clinic is meant for people aged 18 and older and is recommended for those working around children, elders, travelers and those with depressed immune systems. Ordinarily the state Department of Public Health holds a flu clinic of its own later in the fall for children and young adults. Despite the cutting of its full-time nurse and staffing position due to budget reductions, the Wrangell office still intends to hold one this year once its supply of vaccines arrives, likely in November.

With school already back in full swing, to help keep kids covered in the meantime Wrangell’s hospital announced it will also be holding a children’s flu clinic, set for October 15. Interested parents of kids aged 4 to 17 are asked to

preregister with the

hospital’s front desk by this afternoon, in order to ensure availability.

As with the adult clinic, this upcoming one will reduce costs of the vaccine to $25 per child. Held on a Saturday, those wanting an inoculation can stop by the Wrangell Medical Center lobby between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. To pre-register, call 874-7000.