Press Releases: Northwest
October 4, 2004
Kaiser Permanente flu shot clinics to start October 18
PORTLAND, Ore. – Kaiser Permanente is offering free flu shots to its health plan members at a dozen of its facilities in Portland, Beaverton, Clackamas, Hillsboro, Tualatin, Salem, Vancouver, and Longview, Wash., starting Monday, Oct. 18, and continuing through Friday, Nov. 12. The shots will be given on a drop-in basis weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be special Saturday flu shot clinics at several of these sites on Oct. 23 starting at 9 a.m.
For a full schedule with the address of the medical office giving flu shots nearest you, from the Portland area please call (503) 813-2000 and press 6, Ore. from outside the Portland area call 1-800-813-2000 and press 6. Or stop by a Kaiser Permanente medical office and pick up a flyer with full details.
Kaiser Permanente expects to have enough flu vaccine for all of its members who wish to be vaccinated. The shots are especially recommended for those at highest risk from influenza: people over age 65 or between 6 months and 2 years of age; women who will be pregnant during the flu season; people with chronic health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, Ore. asthma; and those who care for them.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it takes one to two weeks after being vaccinated for antibodies against influenza to develop and provide protection.
"Getting a flu shot in late October or early November gives people plenty of time to build up their immunity before the flu season gets under way, which in Oregon is usually mid- to late December through early March," says Joseph Kane, MD, chief of Kaiser Permanente's Infectious Disease Department.
