According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the single best way to protect against the flu, which usually peaks in the Southeast Louisiana region between October and March, is to get vaccinated each year.
North Oaks Walk-In Clinics in Hammond and Walker and North Oaks Primary Care & After Hours Clinic in Ponchatoula are offering flu shots for adults and children, age 6 months and older, including a specific vaccine for those 65 and older. Select North Oaks primary and specialty clinics in Denham Springs, Hammond, Livingston, Independence and Walker also are providing both types of flu shots. To locate the clinic convenient to you, click here. You also may call North Oaks Physician Group at (985) 230-APPT [2778] or toll-free at (844) APPT-NOW [277-8669].
North Oaks is offering the preservative-free, quadrivalent vaccine, which offers protection against the four strains of the flu virus projected by the CDC to be most prevalent for the 2019-2020 season: an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus and two influenza B viruses.
Most health insurance plans are accepted, and many may cover the vaccine as a preventive service at no cost to you and covered family members. To verify acceptance of your plan and preventive service coverage, contact your insurance provider. Self-pay options also are available at $38 for adults and children, age 6 months and older, and $67 for age 65 and older.
North Oaks Walk-In Clinic in Hammond, located at 1900 S. Morrison Blvd. (within North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital), is open weekdays 7 a.m.-8 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
North Oaks Primary Care & After Hours Clinic, located at 530 W. Pine St., Suite 1, is open in Ponchatoula 7 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays.
North Oaks Walk-In Clinic in Walker, located at 28050 Walker S. Road, Suite L, is open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays.
Hours of operation for other participating North Oaks primary and specialty clinics are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
Vaccination of high-risk individuals is especially important to decrease risk of severe flu illness. Vaccination also is important for health care workers, those who live with or care for high-risk individuals, as well as caregivers of and those who live with infants younger than six months.
To learn more about influenza and flu vaccines, speak with your personal health care provider or clickhere to visit the CDC website.