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The best way to protect you and your family from influenza this year is to get a flu shot as soon as you can. And, seasonal flu vaccine is now available at all Cigna Medical Group medical offices and CMG CareToday clinics.
Ask your doctor!
If you are a Cigna Medical Group patient, simply ask for a flu shot at your next available appointment. Or, you can schedule an appointment with your doctor or your doctor's nurse for your seasonal flu shot.
Visit a flu clinic
If you are a Cigna Medical Group patient, simply ask for a flu shot at your next available appointment. Or, you can schedule an appointment with your doctor or your doctor's nurse for your seasonal flu shot.
Visit a CMG CareToday clinic
If you don't have an appointment with your doctor, stop by one of our convenient flu clinics. Starting in September, we will be holding flu clinics at many of our medical offices. Flu clinics will be available through the end of October. To find a flu clinic near you, click here.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends everyone 6 months and older get a flu shot, including healthy people and those with chronic medical conditions. This includes the following people:
- Anyone over the age of 6 months
- Women who are pregnant
- People who have chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes or chronic lung disease
- People aged 65 and older
For more detail on who should get a flu shot, click here.
Because the flu season is unpredictable, it is recommended that you protect yourself as soon as you can. Typically, your flu shot will take about 2-weeks to build up enough antibodies to protect you from exposure to the flu.
Flu activity typically peaks in January and February. However, people do show symptoms as early as October and the virus can continue to occur as late as May. Getting a flu shot as soon as it becomes available each year is always a good idea, and the protection you get from vaccination will last throughout the entire flu season.
It is important that you speak with your primary care physician if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction to eggs, a severe reaction to a previous flu shot, or a history of Guillain-Barré Syndrome that occurred after receiving influenza vaccine, before getting your flu vaccine.
The first thing you can do to protect yourself and your family from the flu is get a seasonal flu vaccine. It is especially important to get a flu vaccine if you have members in your household that are unable to the vaccine (for example if they are under the age of 6 months or have severe allergies to eggs). In addition, you can take everyday preventive steps like staying away from sick people and washing your hands to reduce the spread of germs. If you are sick with the flu, stay home from work or school to prevent spreading the flu to others.
Some groups of people may be at higher risk for developing complications from the flu. The list below describes people who should make it a priority to get a yearly flu vaccine:
- Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 years old
- Adults 65 years of age and older
- Pregnant women
- People who have medical conditions including:
- Asthma (even if it's controlled or mild)
- Neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions
- Chronic lung disease
- Heart disease
- Blood, kidney or liver disorders
- Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
- Metabolic disorders
- Weakened immune system due to disease or medication (such as people with HIV or AIDS, or cancer, or those on chronic steroids)
- People younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy
- People who are morbidly obese (Body Mass Index [BMI] of 40 or greater)
The seasonal flu vaccine cannot cause the flu - you cannot get the flu from receiving the flu vaccine. The virus strains contained in the flu vaccines are inactivated (killed), which means they cannot cause infection. Flu vaccine manufacturers test the vaccines to make sure they are safe.
www.cdc.gov
www.flu.gov
CDC: 800.232.4636
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