IRON MOUNTAIN – Flu vaccinations are now available for Veterans enrolled in VA health care. Veterans may request the flu shot at their regularly scheduled VA appointments.

Veterans may also get vaccinated during free walk-in flu shot clinics at the Hancock VA Clinic on Wednesday, Oct. 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. No appointment is necessary. The VA clinic is located at 787 Market St., Suite 9. Veterans may call (800) 215-8262, extension 34758, for updated VA Flu Shot Clinics in the Upper Peninsula and northeast Wisconsin.

Veterans enrolled in VA health care who received their flu shot elsewhere are requested to contact their VA primary care clinic and provide that information.

“Some people are worried that getting the flu shot will give them the flu, but that is a myth since flu shots either contain inactivated flu viruses or no viruses at all,” said Ann Mattson, RN, Infection Control Nurse at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain.

Another misconception is that the flu shot prevents the stomach flu.

“The flu is a respiratory disease, not a stomach or intestinal ailment, therefore the flu shot is not going to prevent what many call the ‘stomach flu,'” added Mattson.