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Asheville, Brevard, Burnsville, Columbus, Waynesville & Weaverville NC

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Flu Vaccinations

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When temperatures begin to dip and the days get shorter, the seasonal flu rears up to make its presence known. While it may be easy to dismiss the flu as an annual annoyance, influenza is a dangerous illness that should be taken seriously by employers and workers alike. According to the CDC, influenza causes approximately 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.

The best line of defense against severe illness due to the flu virus is the seasonal flu vaccine, and Mercy Occupational Medicine offers in-clinic and on-site flu vaccinations to help protect your workforce from this potentially deadly and costly disease. Mercy uses the latest quadrivalent vaccine, protecting you and your employees from the four most common seasonal flu strains.

The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of 6 months receive the flu vaccine each year (with few exceptions) — and it recommends doing so before flu season peaks from December to February. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk for developing serious complications.

Mercy Urgent Care can help ensure your workforce is protected with flu vaccinations for your employees. To learn about on-site flu vaccination clinics for your business, contact Jon Medin at jmedin@mercyurgentcare.org or call 828.252.3443.

Flu Season

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During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the flu seemed to fall by the wayside, not receiving nearly as much attention as its more recent and deadly cousin. However, the flu is still a dangerous illness that needs to be taken seriously by employers and workers alike. According to the CDC, influenza causes approximately 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.

The seasonal influenza vaccine is the best line of defense against severe illness due to the flu, and Mercy Occupational Medicine offers in-clinic and onsite flu vaccinations to help protect your workforce from this potentially deadly and costly threat.

Recommended timing of flu vaccination. The CDC recommends everyone over the age of 6 months receive the flu vaccine each year (with few exceptions), ideally during the months of September or October, before flu season peaks. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk for developing serious flu complications.

Mercy Urgent Care can help support your employees with flu vaccinations for your workforce. To learn about onsite flu vaccination clinics for your business, contact Jon Medin jmedin@mercyurgentcare.org or call 828.252.3443.

Source: OSHA

Flu Shots: What’s New for the 2021-2022 Season

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From the Mercy Occupational Medicine October eNewsletter

With much of the news focused on the recent resurgence in Covid-19 cases, it is easy to forget about other viruses such as influenza. The flu is likely to be as prevalent this season as it has been in the past, and paired with the threat of COVID-19, it is especially important to protect yourself and your employees with a seasonal flu vaccine.

However, there are some recent changes to the flu vaccine for the 2021-2022 flu season that people should be aware of before receiving the shot.

  • The composition of flu vaccines has been updated. There are many different strands of the influenza virus and they are constantly mutating. The composition of the flu vaccine is reviewed annually and updated as needed to match circulating flu viruses.
  • All flu vaccines will be quadrivalent. Seasonal flu vaccines are designed to protect against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. All flu vaccines in the United States are “quadrivalent” vaccines, which means they protect against four different flu viruses: an influenza A(H1N1) virus, an influenza A(H3N2) virus, and two influenza B viruses.
  • Flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time. Even though both vaccines can be given at the same visit, people should follow the recommended schedule for either vaccine. The CDC recommends getting a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you can, and, ideally, a flu vaccine by the end of October.
  • Recommended recipients of flu vaccination. The CDC recommends everyone over 6 months old receive the flu vaccine every year with few exceptions. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications.

Mercy Urgent Care can help support your employees with flu vaccinations for your workforce. To learn about onsite flu vaccination clinics for your business, contact Mercy Occupational Medicine.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Global Handwashing Day

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One of the best ways to safeguard against sickness is to wash your hands. With the double threat of COVID-19 and the flu, practicing this habit is now even more important. In celebration of Global Handwashing Day, Mercy Urgent Care is sharing these tips and tricks from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention to help you and your family stay germ free this fall.

Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another and throughout an entire community—from your home and workplace to childcare facilities and hospitals. It’s important to remember to wash your hands throughout the day, not just before eating and after using the bathroom. Follow these five steps every time.

  1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
  2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
  3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
  4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
  5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations. If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. You can tell if the sanitizer contains at least 60% alcohol by looking at the product label. Sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in many situations. However,

  • Sanitizers do not get rid of all types of germs.
  • Hand sanitizers may not be as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy.
  • Hand sanitizers might not remove harmful chemicals from hands like pesticides and heavy metals.

Personal hygiene begins and ends with our hands. And, while washing your hands is important, vaccines are your body’s best defense against the flu. Flu shots are available at all eight Mercy Urgent Care locations.

Waynesville location to offer free flu shots, Saturday Jan 25, 12-3 p.m.

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Mercy Urgent Care, a not-for-profit health care organization headquartered in Asheville, is offering a second round of free flu shots on Saturday, Jan. 25, at its new, soon-to-open facility in Waynesville.

Dedicated to providing compassionate, affordable care to all in Western North Carolina, Mercy will administer up to 100 free vaccines from 12-3 p.m. in the lobby of the new location, at 120 Frazier St., Suite 6. Located just off the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway Exit 102, this will be Mercy’s eighth location in Western North Carolina.

The free flu shots, which regularly cost $34.99 before insurance, will be available for ages 8 and up, while supplies last, only at the future Mercy Urgent Care Waynesville on Saturday from 12-3 p.m. Vaccines are available at regular cost at all times at the other seven Mercy Urgent Care locations across Western North Carolina. Covered by many health care plans, the flu vaccine reduces a person’s risk of developing a flu-related illness by an average of 61 percent.

Each season, between 5 and 20 percent of the U.S. population comes down with the virus — and the 2019/2020 season in particular has proven itself particularly severe early on, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mercy Urgent Care Waynesville is slated to open on Tuesday, Feb. 4, and will be open seven days per week, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This new location will bring high-quality, affordable and convenient medical care for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries to Haywood County, giving patients in the Waynesville area access to walk-in care at a fraction of the cost of an ER visit.

Mercy Urgent Care offering free flu shots at new Waynesville facility

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Mercy Urgent Care, a not-for-profit health care organization headquartered in Asheville, is offering free flu shots on Monday, Jan. 13, outside of its new, soon-to-open facility in Waynesville.

Dedicated to providing compassionate, affordable care to all in Western North Carolina, Mercy will administer up to 150 free vaccines from 3-6 p.m. in front of the new location, at 124 Frazier St., Suite 6. A tent will be set up for the event in the parking lot of the brand-new urgent care center, located in the Publix Plaza just off the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway Exit 102.

This promotion follows recent, tragic news of two flu-related deaths in Haywood County, an area hit especially hard by this season’s wave of influenza. Mercy Urgent Care hopes that this donation of 150 vaccines helps to increase access to the flu shot and decrease the flu’s spread in local patients.

Flu shots, which regularly cost $34.99 before insurance, are available for ages 8 and up at all seven (soon to be eight) Mercy Urgent Care locations across Western North Carolina. Covered by many health care plans, the flu vaccine reduces a person’s risk of developing a flu-related illness by an average of 61 percent.

Each season, between 5 and 20 percent of the U.S. population comes down with the virus — and the 2019/2020 season in particular has proven itself particularly severe early on, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mercy Urgent Care Waynesville is slated to open on Tuesday, Feb. 4, and will be open seven days per week, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This new location will bring high-quality, affordable and convenient medical care for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries to Haywood County, giving patients in the Waynesville area access to walk-in care at a fraction of the cost of an ER visit.