Free flu and monkeypox vaccines available in Houma-Thibodaux
The Louisiana Department of Public Health is offering free vaccines in Houma and in Thibodaux.
Vaccines for flu and mpox, among others, are available this year. Mpox is the new name for monkeypox.
The Houma-based event is slated 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today at the Terrebonne Parish Health Unit, 600 Polk St. in Houma. This event also will offer COVID-19 shots to those who are uninsured or underinsured. For those who are insured, the COVID vaccine will not be available at this event.
The Thibodaux-based event will 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Warren J. Harang Auditorium, 310 N. Canal Blvd. This event also will include COVID-19 shots free to everyone provided by People's Drug Store. The only cost will be an insurance copay.
“Vaccination is the best and safest way to reduce your risk of severe illness from flu, and to keep from spreading flu to others," Regional Medical Director Eric Brooks said.
Described as strains of "nucleic acid with attitudes – and a protein overcoat," by NASA, viruses infect people by injecting their genetic material into living cells to reproduce.
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Vaccines are created from these protein overcoats, called antigens. The overcoats, isolated from the genetic material, are not infectious. By exposing the human immune system to them, it creates antibodies. The antibodies allow the immune system to respond faster to the virus and eradicate it before it can establish a foothold in the body.
Scientists try to predict what strains of the flu will be most common, and collect the vaccines that will be most effective against it. The vaccine being administered at these events will include four variations: Flu A (H1N1), Flu A(H3N2), Flu B/Victoria lineage, and Flu B/Yamagata lineage.
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Free flu and monkeypox vaccines available in Houma-Thibodaux
