Dear families,
We are delighted to announce that we will receive our first shipment of influenza vaccines for privately insured families the last week in August. For our families who are insured through the state of Maryland (Medical Assistance/MCO) we have not received a date for your flu vaccine shipment. We will let you know as soon as we receive a notification.
It is tremendously important to get your entire family vaccinated this year, as early as possible. We recommend September and October as best. If your child already has a well visit scheduled, we will offer it to them at that time. You do not need to schedule a separate appointment time.
Influenza (‘the flu’) on its own causes substantial prolonged illness and hospitalization each year, including 30,000 to 60,000 deaths in the US on average.
This year though, with Covid-19 in our communities, getting infected with the flu will be much more problematic, requiring evaluation for Covid, isolation, and quarantine for the child and family contacts, and potentially decreasing one’s available immune response to Covid.
Call, or email us through your child’s patient portal, to make an appointment as soon as possible. We will be having influenza vaccine ‘clinics’ in a socially distanced and protected fashion, at designated weekday and weekend times.
We are also happy to offer flu vaccines to parents and siblings six months and older at the same time. We ask that you schedule these additional flu shots in advance of your appointment. This will ensure that we have the appropriate time, space, and staff allocated to your family. Please note that since we are not the physician of record for parents, there is a fee for a service charge of $35 for each parental flu vaccine. This charge can be submitted for reimbursement to your insurer. We do ask parents to register and pay in advance online to manage your family’s time and care in the office most efficiently.
Main Street Pediatrics remains happy to protect you as well as help you with all your child’s and family’s needs.