Last week, state public health officials announced that influenza immunization will be required for all children 6 months of age or older who are attending Massachusetts child care, pre-school, kindergarten, K-12, and colleges and universities.
Board of Health to host weekly drive-thru Flu Clinics
The Bedford Board of Health will host the first of its planned weekly drive-thru flu clinics for the Bedford community on Monday, September 14th.
The registration process can be found by visiting the following Town of Bedford Board of Health webpage: https://www.bedfordma.gov/bedford-board-of-health/pages/flu-clinic-information-community.
To make the registration process more effective while adhering to pandemic infection risk mitigation strategies, the Board of Health is utilizing an online registration and health care information exchange web-based technology, IntakeQ.
Online registration must take place before your clinic appointment via the online IntakeQ portal found here: https://intakeq.com/booking/arkth6. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Board of Health at 781-275-6507.
While the drive-thru clinics will be open to all residents over the age of 6 months, additional clinics for Bedford’s school-aged population are being planned with the Bedford Public Schools and will be announced once school starts.
More community drive-thru flu clinics may be announced as we traverse through the coming months in the current pandemic. Please continue checking the Board of Health website for more information about this year’s flu clinics and for updated information relative to planned flu clinics.
Why is the Vaccine Requirement Important?
The new vaccine requirement is an important step to reduce flu-related illness and the overall impact of respiratory illness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students will be expected to have received a flu vaccine by December 31, 2020, for the 2020-2021 influenza season, unless either a medical or religious exemption is provided. Also exempted are K-12 students who are homeschooled and higher education students who are completely off-campus and engaged in remote learning only. This new flu immunization requirement to enter school in January is in addition to existing vaccine requirements for all those attending child care, preschool, K-12, and colleges and universities in Massachusetts. Elementary and secondary students in districts and schools that are using a remote education model are not exempt.
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