Lasalle County Health Department

LaSalle County Health Department

717 Etna Road

Ottawa, Illinois 61350-1097

Phone: (815) 433-3366

Phone: (800) 247-5243

Fax: (815) 433-9522

Julie Kerestes, BS, LEHP, Administrator William Johnson, President

Jack Wayland, Vice President

Don Kaminky, Secretary

Louis Weber Jr., Treasurer

Melva Allender, RN Lou Anne Carretto Mark Benavides, DDS Robert B. Maguire, MD

David Faulk, MD

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Recognizing the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible to help control the spread of illness from seasonal influenza, a serious respiratory illness, LaSalle County Health Department will be at your school to provide Seasonal Influenza (flu) vaccine to students on Oct. 13th. Your child’s participation in this vaccination effort is strictly voluntary.

Understanding what the “flu shot” protects people from is very important. “Flu” is frequently linked to illnesses that have vomiting, diarrhea and other GI symptoms. However, true influenza, the virus the vaccine protects people from getting is a severe respiratory illness. The flu shot will not prevent GI Illnesses/viruses that cause vomiting and diarrhea. In order to understand the flu vaccine, please go on-line and review the Vaccine Information Statements (VIS). A link is provided for these statements. There are 2 VIS-one is for the “shot” and the other is for the nasal spray.

www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/flulive.pdf

www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/flu.pdf

Students who will be participating in the flu clinics will need to return a fully completed and signed consent form to the school no later than Friday, Oct. 8th. The information on this form is extremely important. Please complete all areas of the consent including a phone number you can be reached at the day of the clinic, should LCHD have any questions. The insurance information requested on the form is necessary for the staff to determine what stock of vaccine your child is eligible to receive.

The cost of the flu vaccine is determined by completing the insurance information on the consent form. For students who have health insurance which covers flu shots, the cost is $25.00 and is due at the time of the clinic. An insurance receipt will be provided to your child. If your insurance does not cover flu shots or you do not have insurance, the cost will be $10.00 due the day of the clinic. Please contact LCHD with any questions, we are more than happy to assist you with the form or answer your questions.

For questions about the consent form, the school clinic, influenza or any other concerns, please call LaSalle County Health Department at (815)433-3366. We are open Monday thru Friday 8:00 – 4:30.

*A copy of the LaSalle County Health Department “Notice of Privacy Practices” is available upon request.*