Vaccines can help avoid contracting COVID-19 and the flu

April 28, 2022

Vaccines can help avoid contracting COVID-19 and the flu

MOBILE, Ala. — Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is saying people eligible for a newly authorized second booster against COVID-19 also may need a third one by the fall.

This is important since influenza and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but different viruses cause them. In the United States, flu season is considered to run from October through May.

“We are encouraging people to start their primary COVID-19 series without delay,” said Dr. Rendi Murphree, an Epidemiologist who oversees the Mobile County Health Department’s Bureau of Disease Surveillance and Control. “Starting your primary series soon and getting a booster in the fall will give you the best level of protection by flu season.”

“School will be back in session without routine testing, masking, or social distancing, and cooler weather and holidays will bring people together indoors,” she said. While it is impossible to know exactly what will happen in the fall regarding COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses that circulate during flu season, vaccination will slow transmission and prevent severe disease.

MCHD provides COVID-19 walk-in vaccines and appointment-only rapid testing Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Clients may visit either the Festival Centre (Suite 101-A at the corner of Airport Boulevard and Montlimar Drive in Mobile) or the Public Health Response Unit on the campus of the Semmes Health Center (3810 Wulff Road East).

Clients can walk in for COVID-19 vaccinations. However, individual appointments must be made for rapid testing online at this link — https://appointments.mchd.org. Each client must present proof of their appointment when they arrive.

To learn the latest on MCHD’s vaccine events, visit www.MCHDcares.com or call 251-410-MCHD (6243).