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Improving Community Health -- $7.4 million, supporting more than 279,000 people Warding Off Influenza  Each
year, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital join forces to
provide more than 29,000 flu shots free of charge in the St. Louis community.
The shots are dispensed over the course of about two weeks on the medical center
campus and at health centers, churches, supermarkets and shopping malls
throughout the area.
The flu shot is the single best way to protect individuals and the community at large from influenza, a severe upper respiratory virus that causes 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations in the United States each year. The very young, the elderly and persons with compromised immune systems are at highest risk for serious complications. While a flu shot does not guarantee immunity against influenza, it reduces the chances of catching and spreading the illness, and can reduce the severity of symptoms. Vaccine for the community flu shot campaign is funded by the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation. The hospitals donate staff time to administer the vaccinations. Other BJC hospitals also provide flu shots to the community either free of charge or at minimal cost. |
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