| Sarah Bruyn Jones

sarah.jones@roanoke.com, 981-3264

Flu shots are now available to children and adults at various public health departments in the New River Health District.

The district has received about 40 percent of its seasonal flu vaccine shipment so far, and is scheduling appointments to give the shots, said Robert Parker, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Health.

The district ordered 500 doses at a cost of $5,793.50 and will charge $30 a shot. The shot, however, is covered by Medicaid and Medicare, and the health department will bill an individual's private insurance company.

"If needed, arrangements can be made for additional vaccine," Parker said in an e-mail, noting that seasonal flu vaccine orders are based on the previous year's utilization.

The vaccine is also available at many other locations throughout the health district, including pharmacies and various physician offices.

The health department will also receive an additional 400 doses of seasonal flu that will be given to adults for free on a first-come, first-serve basis. These shots will be administered during the department's annual emergency preparedness and response drills scheduled for early October.

Parker said more details should be available soon, and that the drills are paid for through a federal grant.

Public health officials throughout the state and nation are pushing for people to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu. The efforts to get the public vaccinated have started slightly earlier than in years past as the threat of the H1N1 flu virus, or swine flu, has continued to make headlines.

The seasonal flu vaccine will not protect people from swine flu and public health officials are expected to make another push for people to get vaccinated against swine flu once that vaccine is ready. The swine flu vaccine is expected to be available by mid- to late October.

Between 5 percent and 20 percent of Americans get the flu each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and about 36,000 die from flu-related complications.

Protection from the flu develops about two weeks after a person is vaccinated and can last up to a year, according to the health department.