Iowa’s influenza activity is low, according to the most recent report from the department of public health, and Washington County hopes to keep it that way with their flu shot clinics.

Public Health Nurse Sara Hammes says flu vaccine administration has gone well, with over 655 doses given in their private-pay category, “Which is trending right where we’ve seen in the past year, so we’re right up there with what we have been in past years delivering flu vaccines. As far as our children go, we’re a little bit behind in getting our flu vaccines out to our VFC kids. We’d like to really see those numbers go up here this month in November in getting that flu vaccination to those populations.”

VFC stands for Vaccines for Children, a federally-funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children through 18 years of age who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of inability to pay. Washington County Public Health currently has one walk-in clinic scheduled from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. this Friday on the fifth floor of Federation Bank in Washington. The flu vaccine is offered to those six months and older, and residents five years of age and older can receive a free COVID-19 vaccine. As of Monday, Iowa’s coronavirus dashboard shows 92 patients in the southeast region are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, and 34 of them are in the Intensive Care Unit. Those not fully vaccinated account for 80.2% of those in the ICU and 73.4% of those hospitalized.