The West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District has started offering flu shot clinics, with several public clinics scheduled for October.

By Ronni Newton

The West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District continues to offer COVID-19 vaccines, and with the arrival of the fall season has also started providing flu vaccines to the public, with several clinics coming up in West Hartford as well as in Bloomfield.

West Hartford clinics, which do not require advance registration, are available on the following dates:

• Wednesday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.-noon – West Hartford Senior Center, 15 Starkel Road for adults age 18+
• Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2:30-5:30 p.m. – Town Hall Auditorium for families (anyone age 4+)
• Thursday, Oct. 14, 10 a.m.-noon – Elmwood Community Center, 1106 New Britain Ave. for adults age 18+

Flu shot clinics are also being offered in Bloomfield, and are listed on the flyer below.

A variety of insurance programs will be accepted at the clinics, including Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cigna, Medicaid, Husky, Medicare Part B, and United Healthcare/Oxford. The cost is $30 for those who do not have insurance.

Health Director Aimee Krauss said the Health District participates in the state’s vaccination program for children, and flu shots can be administered to children ages 4 and up at no charge, regardless of insurance status.

The flu shots are thimerosal-free she said.

Krauss said getting a flu shot is as important as ever this year, in order to avoid the “dual pandemic” of influenza and COVID-19.

Cases of flu were very low last year, but are likely to increase this season. “Because people this year want to take their masks off, that’s one of the reasons our flu shot campaign started in September.” She said flu season doesn’t usually begin until October or November, but cases are popping up already and some of the symptoms mimic COVID.

“If you feel sick, stay home, get tested,” Krauss said.

In addition to clinics that are open to the public, Krauss said the Health District has holding flu shot clinics for teachers and other Board of Education employees. Lori Flaherty, nursing supervisor for the non-public schools, is coordinating flu shot clinics for teachers and employees of the non-public schools in town.

The Health District is continuing to administer COVID-19 vaccines, and currently has Moderna as well as a few doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine available, Krauss said.

Those who are immunocompromised and are eligible for a third dose of the Moderna vaccine can receive that shot at the Health District’s office in Bloomfield, at 580 Cottage Grove Road, during Wednesday morning clinics. The clinics are held weekly from 9 a.m. until noon, and to make an appointment, which is required, or confirm eligibility call 860-561-7900 ext. 0.

West Hartford continues to have positive COVID-19 cases daily, but for the past month the rates have remained relatively stable with the town at the “orange” level, with the average daily number of positive cases per 100,000 of population below 15. Last week the rate per 100,000 was 13.4.

More people are now using home-based COVID tests, Krauss said, and those results are not reported to the Health District or reflected in the data released by the state. If you are symptomatic, Krauss said, “the recommendation is that people do get a PCR test.” While awaiting the results, stay home and isolate, she added.

“Both West Hartford and Bloomfield have done very well with their vaccinations,” Krauss said.

As of the most recent data provided by the state’s Department of Public Health last Thursday, 79.72% of all residents – which includes those who are not eligible – have received at least one COVID-19 shot, and roughly 75% are fully vaccinated. “That’s phenomenal,” Krauss said.

As of Sept. 22, among those ages 12-17, 90.99% had received at least one dose and 84.17% were fully vaccinated. For 18 to 24-year-olds, 89% had received one shot and 80.33% were fully vaccinated. The rates are 89.7% with one shot/84.31% fully vaccinated for ages 25-44; 88.68% with one shot/84.68% fully vaccinated for ages 45-64; and 100% with one shot/98.43% fully-vaccinated for West Hartford residents over age 65.

“If you’re vaccinated, as long as you are asymptomatic you don’t need to quarantine after contact,” Krauss said.

In West Hartford’s high schools, as of Tuesday there are no active COVID-19 cases and no one in quarantine. At the three public middle schools, where some but not all students are old enough to be vaccinated, there were two active cases and a total of four individuals in quarantine as of Tuesday.

The West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District has not been offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has received FDA approval for individuals 16 and up and is the only vaccine available under emergency use authorization for those 12-15. Pfizer is anticipated to be offered to children ages 5-11 later this fall.

Opportunities for children to get vaccinated have thus far been arranged through other providers, Krauss said, but she said the Health District may begin to offer the Pfizer vaccine now that the refrigeration requirements have changed.

Krauss said she doesn’t anticipate obtaining booster shots, or shots for children once they are available, to be as difficult as it was to make an appointment to get vaccinated in the spring.

“Please get vaccinated. It will keep you out of the hospital, keep you from dying,” Krauss said. As of Tuesday, 74.9% of the 259 COVID-19 patients in Connecticut hospitals are not fully-vaccinated, the state reported. Providers say, however, that many of those who are vaccinated are hospitalized for other reasons but have also received a positive test result.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of being vaccinated,” Krauss said.

In addition to flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines, the Health District will also administer other regular childhood immunizations at their Bloomfield offices, afternoons from 1-3 p.m.

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