Appointments available now at Prevea locations throughout Western Wisconsin
Prevea Health, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls are encouraging community members to get their flu shot as the flu season approaches amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have one tool that we can use against the flu that we don’t have yet for COVID-19. That tool is a vaccine, and getting vaccinated for the flu is the most important step you can take to prevent the disease,” said Dr. Ashok Rai, President and CEO, Prevea Health.
The flu vaccine fights a different group of flu viruses each year; therefore, it’s important to be vaccinated yearly. Flu shots are especially important for young children, pregnant women, people age 65 and older, and people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart and lung disease.
“We are urging as many people as able to get their flu vaccination this year as soon as possible,” said Dr. Rai.
Appointments for flu vaccines are now available at Prevea Health locations across the Chippewa Valley region. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (888) 277-3832, and through the MyPrevea patient portal at myprevea.com. Flu vaccine clinics with extended evening and weekend hours are also available. For more information, please visit: www.prevea.com/flu.
“As COVID-19 still exists in our communities, it is more important now than ever to get a flu shot to keep ourselves and loved ones healthy, and to ensure our community hospitals do not become overwhelmed by these two very infectious diseases,” said Jennifer Drayton, Chief Nursing Officer at HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals. “Flu vaccine prevents tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year. During 2018-2019, flu vaccinations prevented an estimated 58,000 flu-related hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Additional insight about the upcoming flu season and the concerns it poses for health care and our communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is provided in the latest episode of Prevea Health’s podcast, Plug in to Health. To listen, visit
www.prevea.com/podcast or download
Plug in to Health for free on Apple, Google Play or other major podcasting platforms. The episode is called, “Fight the Flu.”