MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Dr. Millard Collier calls it a “twindemic” and the “worst-case scenario” — the prospect of people getting COVID-19 and the flu.
Leaders in Miami Gardens are teaming with doctors to stress the urgency of vaccinating against influenza, to reduce the chances of that happening.
“The goal overall of this project is to get as many people vaccinated as possible,” said Thamara Labrousse of the city.
The Live Healthy Miami Gardens initiative is funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which launches national influenza vaccination week starting Dec. 6.
“The flu vaccine can help us to preempt other kinds of illnesses that can be caught in flu season,” Miami Gardens Councilwoman Katrina Wilson said.
Officials are pleading with people not only to get the shot but to use extreme caution during this flu season.
They’re providing opportunities to get give people the vaccine free of cost — and dispelling misinformation against the flu vaccine.
“The worst-case scenario would be for a person to simultaneously capture both diseases,” Collier said. “The great thing about the influenza is that we do have a vaccine for it. We’ve been eagerly and anxiously awaiting the coronavirus vaccine. ... But what people seem to have gotten a little fatigued about is their flu vaccine.”
Free Flu Shots Events in Miami Gardens
Monday, Dec. 7: Jesse Trice Community Health System, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 9: CFCE, 1825 NW 167th Street,10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 10: Senior drive-thru vaccination at Betty T. Ferguson Recreation Complex, 10 a.m.
Friday, Dec. 11: UHI Community Care Clinic, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Free Pediatric Vaccines and Flu Shots
The UHealth pediatric mobile unit will provide free vaccines and flu shots for children ages 12 months to 18 years on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to noon at Gibson Park, 401 NW 12th Street in Miami.