Flu and COVID shot clinics scheduled Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20 and 21
By Fischer Genau DIGITAL MEDIA LEAD
With flu season imminent, Bozeman Health is hosting flu and COVID-19 vaccine clinics at Big Sky Medical Center this weekend. Vaccines are available to ages two and older, and will be distributed from 2 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21.
“When it comes to infections, COVID remains the greatest threat to our health right now,” Dr. Peter Bulger, Bozeman Health’s infectious disease medical director, wrote to EBS in an email. “The flu has been with us for a much longer time, but it is still responsible for a lot of hospitalizations and deaths every year. The best way to protect yourself and others from these infections is to get the latest versions of both vaccines.”
Flu symptoms, which include sore throat, runny nose, cough, fever and body aches, lead to around 25,000 deaths and 390,000 hospitalizations each year in the U.S. according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. It takes up to two weeks to develop immunity to the flu following vaccination.
CDC data showed that COVID led to more hospitalizations and had a higher mortality rate than the flu during the 2023-24 flu and COVID season. With cold temperatures and more people shut up inside during the coming winter months, people will be especially vulnerable to these and other respiratory illnesses.
“We should expect a cold, flu, and COVID season similar to last year’s, which was much better from a COVID standpoint than the early years of the pandemic but still saw a lot of harm done to people’s health by these viruses,” Bulger said. “The more people get these shots, the less likely we are to have another bad year.”
Walk-ins are welcome at the vaccine clinics, or people can call ahead to schedule an appointment. Bozeman Health will also host Friday-Saturday clinics on Oct. 25 and 26 and Nov. 22 and 23, with the same hours as the September clinics.
