It’s Fall. Leaves are falling to the ground, students are back in class, fashionable winter berets are filling up the shelves at Target, and, some of us are curled up in a blanket fortress of solitude, going through Kleenex at a rate of a box per day, eating Ricolas like candy, and praying for sweet, merciful relief from The Flu. I’m not talking about a 24-hour bug; I’m talking about the proper noun Flu virus.
I’ll be honest, I used to avoid getting my flu shot every year because I felt like it would actually give me the flu. That was before I got The Flu one year after skipping the annual vaccine. It. Was. Misery. It was way worse than any little bug I’d had after getting the flu shot.
Ever since then, I make it a point to get my flu shot every fall and, here it is, my soapbox moment: you should too.
This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are only recommending injectable vaccines for the season. Research showed that the mist was only effective 3% of the time and, well, who wants to shoot the flu right up their nose for those odds, am I right?
So here are some places around Boulder where you can go, roll up your sleeve, and get your flu shot for a reasonable price.
College students
As a reward for the tuition you’re paying to go to the University of Colorado, flue shots are free for all CU students! Currently there are two walk in clinic locations:
Wardenburg Health Center:
Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Check in on the second floor at the Information Desk
Rec Center:
Mondays: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Tuesdays: 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Wednesdays: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Check in at the Wellness Suite/Fitwell Office
For elementary-, middle school-, and high school-aged students, flu shots are not available from the school but are highly recommended.
Some lucky employees
Many businesses offer free flu shots to their employees and will offer an on site clinic for their employees. Take advantage of this and then treat yourself to a nice dinner with the money you saved, you thrifty devil, you.
Medicaid users
Good news for families on Medicaid, the CDC’s Vaccines for Children program offers free flu vaccinations for children under the age of 18. Plus, most pediatric care offices are within the Vaccines for Children network, so it shouldn’t bee too difficult to get the kiddos in for their shot.
Since Colorado lists the flu shot as a recommended vaccine, adults on Medicaid may also qualify for free or low-cost flu shots as well. Find a flu shot location in Boulder.
Pretty much everyone else
You pretty much have to actively avoid the flu shot if your insurance covers it. You can get them at most Walgreens, Rite-Aids, Safeways, and King Soopers for between $20-$30. Many of the pharmacies will give you a shopping pass worth a nice chunk of change when you get a flu shot at their location, so be sure to ask.
Remember, only shots this season, no mist, and it’s highly recommended by the CDC that kids under 18 and adults over 65 get the vaccine. For everyone else, I’m highly recommending you get a flu shot because 1) I’m not mean and I don’t want you to get sick and (2) I don’t want your gross, germ-riddled body hobbling into the office claiming it’s just a 24-hour bug and then infecting half the staff. Just take the sick day, bro.
