As a way to encourage people to get their flu shot this year, Governor Ned Lamont got his flu shot while at a clinic in Meriden's Maloney High School Friday.
Lamont and public health officials are stressing the need for flu shots as winter approaches, citing COVID-19 as a main reason for getting vaccinated.
Acting Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford of the Department of Public Health said the state should avoid a bad flu season so as to keep people from getting both COVID-19 and the flu as well as to help lessen the burden on health care workers.
"[A bad flu season] would be difficult, obviously, for individuals but it would also be difficult for our health care system, emergency departments, hospitals, clinics, etc." Gifford said.
With face mask-wearing requirements across the state, Gifford said they should help contain the spread of the flu. However, she stresses that face masks are no substitute for the flu vaccine.
The Department of Public Health is making efforts to ensure flu vaccines are available for everyone in the state, including those without health insurance or without means to pay for it.
According to Gifford, the department is working with local health officials and federally-qualified health centers to get flu vaccines out to communities at no cost.
"And for the first time this year, we are supplying vaccines through the state for every child in Connecticut to get a vaccine at no cost through the Connecticut Children's Vaccine Program," Gifford said.
Gifford is pushing for the state to exceed Connecticut's flu vaccine statistics from last year. According to Gifford, both for children and adults, Connecticut was among the top five states in the country in 2019 in terms of the percentage of the population that gets a vaccine.
Governor Ned Lamont said he also wants to encourage people getting vaccinated to avoid any confusion between the flu and COVID-19.
"Flu symptoms and COVID symptoms are pretty similar, and that's why I don't want any confusion when it comes to schools or any confusion when it comes to the hospitals. I want to do everything I can to reduce the flu-like symptoms wherever they're coming from and one of the first things we can do is have more people get the flu vaccine," Lamont said.
Since it takes a couple of weeks for the immunity to set in, Gifford said, now is the time to get a flu shot.