Flu season is slowly approaching. Erin Olson of the Knox County Health Department gave a rundown of their upcoming vaccination event. Coming up this Saturday, the Health Department will be holding a drive-thru flu clinic at Hinchcliff-Pearson-West Funeral Home in Galesburg.
“You can stop by Hinchcliff-Pearson-West on Saturday from 7:00 to 10:00. You’re going to get donuts and coffee from the staff at Hinchcliff-Pearson-West and then you can get your flu shot,” Olson said.
Insurance will be taken this year at the drive-thru clinic. The cost for the shot will vary depending on the strength of the vaccine. For a regular dose, it will be $30.00. The high-dose will be $60.00.
Olson also brought up an issue that most Knox County residents may not worry about – lead poisoning. According to Olson, over 80 percent of the homes in Knox County were built prior to 1978, meaning their likelihood of possessing lead paint is higher. Even if homeowners have painted over areas that were previously painted by lead paint, it can still be a risk.
“They could have painted it, but if you didn’t scrape all that paint off and you’ve painted over it, you have the deterioration where it starts to come up. Then you have friction of people walking on it, and then you have the lead dust. That is a big thing for the younger kids because where are they at? They’re on the floor, and they have that hand to mouth motion where they’re getting a lot of that dust in their bodies,” Olson said.
For more information regarding the Knox County Health Department, log on to knoxcountyhealth.org.
written by Jackson Kane
