Flu Vaccine Still Available, But Going Fast
FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) - With the Collin County Health Department out of the adult flu vaccine, and the Denton County Health Department down to a small supply, the nonprofit North Texas Cares saw a need. It helped to fill that need on Wednesday by offering $10 flu shots.
All of its 90 doses of the flu vaccine were gone by the end of the night.
"We've gotten a lot of calls from clinics asking if we have the vaccine, because they are out of it already," explained Danielle Savoy with North Texas Cares.
But despite many clinics having no doses left, local health officials said that there is still plenty of flu vaccine available in the area. The Dallas County Health Department received an additional 2,000 vaccines this week, and health director Zachary Thompson stated that his department has enough to last another two weeks. The Tarrant County Health Department also said that it has enough vaccine on hand to last several days.
Shanthi Murali and her two daughters were among those who got the flu shot at the North Texas Cares clinic in Frisco on Wednesday. She admitted that she was late this year in getting the flu shot, which is why she was one of the first people in line. "We needed to take it earlier, sometime in October," she said. "But it's never too late, and that's why we are here."
Thousands of North Texans have already caught the flu bug this season, and 39 people in the DFW area have died from complications related to the flu. Medical professionals are encouraging people to get checked out, because some flu symptoms are not obvious. Even if you have gotten a flu shot, you can still feel sick.
It takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to be fully effective.
JPS Hospital in Fort Worth explained that they are in "Code Yellow," meaning that staff members are working extra shifts to deal with the flu surge. Elective surgeries are being rescheduled and non-trauma patients are not being accepted from other area hospitals.
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