SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — Baptist Memorial Health Care and the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation will host Free Flu Shot Saturdays on Nov. 7 and Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Everyone in the community is invited to participate in these free drive-thru flu shot clinics.
The Nov. 7 event will take place at Baptist Medical Group–Humphreys Family Practice Clinic at 6685 Poplar Ave., Suite 120, in Germantown. The Nov. 14 clinic will be hosted at Baptist Medical Group–Memphis Primary Care Associates at 1520 Union Ave. in Memphis.
Masks and social distancing are required.
Adults and children age 12 and older are encouraged to wear short sleeves or sleeves that are easy to roll up. Children under 12 are encouraged to wear shorts or short pants.
“Getting a flu vaccine is important every year, but this year it is especially crucial,” said Dr. Stephen Threlkeld, medical director of Infectious Diseases for Baptist Memorial Health Care. “It can protect some people from the flu entirely and reduce the severity of the flu in others. That’s important because the flu can lead to more serious medical conditions and even death, especially among seniors.”
Since this year’s flu season will overlap with the COVID-19 pandemic, Baptist Memorial Health Care and BlueCross medical experts encourage everyone to get a flu shot, especially ahead of colder weather and holidays, which are likely to increase in-person, indoor interactions.
“We’re grateful to Baptist Memorial Health Care for partnering with the BlueCross Foundation to make Free Flu Shot Saturdays happen here in Memphis,” said Chelsea Johnson, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee’s director of Community Relations and BlueCross Foundation. “Getting the flu shot is a safe, easy way to help keep all families healthy, and we wanted to make it even easier for our neighbors to get vaccinated.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anyone can get the flu (even healthy people), and serious problems related to the flu can happen at any age; but some people are at higher risk of developing serious flu-related complications if they get sick. This includes people 65 years and older, people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease), pregnant women, and young children.
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age or older get a flu vaccine every year. Over the past 50 years, hundreds of millions of Americans have safely received flu vaccines, and it prevents millions of illnesses each year.