Baptist Health Hardin to help fend off flu with flu shot clinics

ELIZABETHTOWN, KY (Sept. 30, 2024) – October is the optimum month for getting a flu shot – and Baptist Health Hardin will make getting one a little easier by offering the following flu shot clinics:

• LaRue County: Saturday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Lincoln Days in Hodgenville.
• Nelson County: Monday, Oct. 14, 12:30-4:30 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul, located at 219 E. Muir Street in Bardstown.
• Meade County: Thursday, Oct 17, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. at St. John the Apostle Church, located at 515 Broadway Street in Brandenburg.
• Hardin County: Wednesday, Oct. 23, 10 a.m. – noon, at Lakeside Worship Center, located at 1801 Ring Road in Elizabethtown

No registration or appointment is required. If you have insurance, bring your insurance card. If you do not have insurance, you can still receive the vaccine at no cost to you.

“Baptist Health is committed to protecting the health of those in the communities that we serve. With that in mind, we recommend getting an annual flu shot,” said Jamie Lane, PharmD, pharmacy director at Baptist Health Hardin. “Getting a flu shot is one of the best ways to prevent the flu. However, if a patient catches the flu but is vaccinated, the common symptoms of fever, headache, cough, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing and body aches, are typically not as severe and the illness passes more quickly.”

With this event, Baptist Health is working with Feeding America, a local food bank, to reach community members who may have trouble accessing flu vaccines.

Typically, the flu season in Kentucky and Southern Indiana begins in October or November.  If the flu shot is given too early, young children and adults over age 65 may see the vaccine’s strength weaken in the final weeks of the flu season, making people in these two groups more susceptible to catching the virus.

If given too late, you may catch the flu during the two weeks that it might take for your body to respond to the vaccine.

It takes up to two weeks to build immunity after a flu shot.

Centennial celebration

The original Kentucky Baptist Hospital in Louisville opened its doors in November 1924 following years of rallying community support and fundraising. Baptist Health has since expanded to 10 hospitals and more than 2,700 licensed beds, reaching nearly 75 percent of Kentucky residents and a wide swath of southern Indiana.