Photo by El Alvi/Flickr

Sitka residents have an opportunity to avoid one of the eternal pitfalls of our rainy, damp, cold winters.

Health care providers in town are partnering up to offer a city-wide flu vaccine clinic on Saturday at the fire hall.

As diseases go, the flu is not very fun.

“People say, I feel like I was hit by a truck.”

Kathy Ingallinera is a nurse practioner at SEARHC. She says people who ride out routine winter colds are getting off easy compared to those who get the flu.

“They often have shaking chills, high fever. I can’t move. They often don’t have a runny nose, but they do have a cough. With a flu, you’re feeling like you want to stay in bed and maybe stay there for the rest of your life.”

Ingallinera says Saturday’s clinic can accommodate up to 300 residents, age six months and older. A live virus nasal vaccine is available for healthy people under the age of fifty, and traditional shots for everyone else.

There will also be some doses of a new intra-dermal vaccine, which Ingallinera says is a boon for anyone afraid of needles.

“It’s given in the upper arm, but it isn’t as big as a needle. It doesn’t go into the muscle. It’s a pre-filled syringe, and it shoots out about 2 millimeters and then it retracts. So it goes into the intra-dermal area of the arm and deposits the vaccine there and it’s just as effective as the IM (intra-muscular).”

Contrary to myth, Ingallinera says you can’t get the flu from getting either shot. The virus is dead, and triggers an immune response that may result in some mild symptoms for a while.

Most people who come down with the flu after being immunized caught it before hand.

“Now, if you were at church on Sunday and hugged somebody or shook their hand and then come Saturday and get your flu shot – and you picked up the flu at church on Sunday, or at the grocery store on Wednesday, you’re going to get the flu.”

Ingallinera also has this word of caution: While getting the flu can be unpleasant for most people, it can be dangerous for some – particularly the elderly, the very young, and patients with chronic illnesses such as asthma and heart disease.

Clinic hours this Saturday at the fire hall are 10 AM to 2 PM. The agencies participating include SEARHC, the Coast Guard, Sitka Community Hospital, the state Department of Public Health, and private practioners.