{"id":136809,"date":"2024-10-29T22:05:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T02:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=136809"},"modified":"2024-10-29T22:05:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T02:05:36","slug":"lvhn-to-offer-free-drive-thru-flu-shots-in-november-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=136809","title":{"rendered":"LVHN to Offer Free Drive-Thru Flu Shots in November"},"content":{"rendered":"

No registration required for vaccinations at Dorney Park and LVH\u2013Hecktown Oaks; food donations also will be accepted to support local food banks and shelters<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (Sept. 24, 2024) \u2014 Flu season is right around the corner, and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) will administer free influenza vaccinations for the 27th straight year for adults and children ages 6 months and older during two drive-thru flu shot clinics in November. Vaccines will be administered at Dorney Park in Allentown on Saturday, Nov. 2, and Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)\u2013Hecktown Oaks in Lower Nazareth Township on Sunday, Nov. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.<\/p>\n

For the past 26 years, LVHN has administered more than 210,000 free flu shots through its annual community influenza vaccination campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing vaccinated against influenza reduces the risk for illness, hospitalization and death from the flu,\u201d says Alex Benjamin, MD, LVHN\u2019s Chief of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. \u201cLike many respiratory illnesses, influenza can be spread by infected individuals who are not showing symptoms, and since we are not masking as often as before, we could see increased transmission. Therefore, we strongly encourage everyone to make it their responsibility to get vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone receiving a flu shot at either drive-thru location is asked to review the vaccine information statement and fill out a consent form by visiting\u00a0LVHN.org\/flushot<\/a>. Please bring a completed and signed consent form for each person receiving a flu shot. There will be consent forms available at the drive-thru sessions if you do not have access to a printer.<\/p>\n

In addition to the free vaccinations, LVHN is once again partnering with area food banks and shelters to accept donations of unexpired, nonperishable food items during each of the drive-thru sessions. While encouraged to support those in need, food donations are optional and not required to receive a shot. Those who choose to donate food are urged to check the expiration date and only bring items that have not expired and are non-perishable.<\/p>\n

Volunteers also will be collecting other items to assist those in need in our community. These include things like diapers, personal hygiene products (e.g., toothbrushes), coffee pods and disinfectant wipes.<\/p>\n

According to Terry Burger, RN, LVHN\u2019s Administrator for Infection Control and Prevention, a standard dose of flu vaccine will be given to those 6 months to 64 years of age. Burger said those 65 and older will be offered the high-dose vaccine.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting the vaccine remains the best way to protect yourself and those around you from getting the flu and possibly to prevent serious illness if you do get the flu,\u201d Burger said.<\/p>\n

Maps of the vaccination routes for Dorney Park and LVH\u2013Hecktown Oaks are available at\u00a0LVHN.org\/flushot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those planning to receive a flu shot during LVHN\u2019s November drive-thru vaccination clinics should wear loose-fitting clothing so the shot can be administered in the arm or the leg for children under 2 years of age.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About Jefferson\u00a0<\/strong>
\nLehigh Valley Health Network is now proudly part of Jefferson Health. Nationally ranked, Jefferson, which is principally located in the Greater Philadelphia region, Lehigh Valley and northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value. Jefferson is more than 65,000 people strong, dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow’s professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic\/programmatic, clinical and applied research.\u00a0Thomas Jefferson University<\/a>, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering\u00a0200+<\/strong>\u00a0undergraduate and graduate programs to more than\u00a08,300 students.<\/strong>\u00a0Jefferson Health<\/a>, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit health care systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at\u00a032 hospitals<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations<\/strong>\u00a0throughout the region.\u00a0Jefferson Health Plans<\/a>\u00a0is a not-for-profit managed health care organization providing a broad range of health coverage options in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than 35 years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nBrian Downs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No registration required for vaccinations at Dorney Park and LVH\u2013Hecktown Oaks; food donations also will be accepted to support local food banks and shelters\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (Sept. 24, 2024) … Continue reading LVHN to Offer Free Drive-Thru Flu Shots in November<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/LVHN.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136809"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=136809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/115701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=136809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=136809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=136809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}