Busy travelers who have not had their flu shot yet now have a new place to get the vaccine: the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Intermountain Healthcare opened the clinic, located between terminal two’s concourses C and D, in November said Operations Officer Ross Fulton.
“It does provide a very easy access and low cost solution for those travelers that seem to have fast-paced lifestyles and don’t have time to go to their primary care physician to get their flu shot,” Fulton said.
Though the vaccination has become increasingly available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s preliminary data from this year’s flu shot shows it may not be as effective as usual. This is partially because the viruses originally used to make the shot have undergone genetic changes—the flu people are now getting sick from is not the same one their bodies produced antibodies for after they got the vaccine.
Even so, Fulton said it is still a good idea to get a shot.
“We do know that those that are getting the flu shot are better protected than if they had not received the flu shot,” Fulton said. “There’s always a risk level there. You can get a flu shot and you could get a different strain of flu that the shot will not render any advantages over, but there still are strains out there that the flu shot will accommodate benefits to the public.”
So far the airport clinic has vaccinated around 125 individuals. Fulton said shots are available through the end of February for adults over 18 years of age; the cost is $25.