Rochester, MN  (KROC AM News) - It may still be summer, but Olmsted County health officials are urging parents of school-aged kids to start thinking about scheduling a flu shot.

Olmsted County Public Health Services is teaming up with Olmsted Medical Center and Mayo Clinic to offer influenza vaccinations at elementary, middle and high schools this fall.

The agency says parents must sign their children up for a shot between August 9 and September 13, regardless of the date vaccinations take place at their school.

Online registration is the preferred method, however paper forms are available at the schools. You can register here.

OCPHS says offering the shots at school is fast, easy and convenient for  parents and their children. The vaccines are administered by Mayo Clinic or Olmsted Medical Center nurses.The vaccine will be billed directly to the child’s insurance and recorded in their electronic medical record.  

According to OCPHS, students and adults should get a flu shot every year. Research has found that although a healthy adult has a seven percent chance of getting influenza any given season, school kids have a twenty percent chance. Vaccination of school-aged children is one of the most effective ways to prevent outbreaks of influenza within the community.

 

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