Oregon has been one of the states hit hardest by influenza this flu season, with heightened levels of flu transmission causing increased emergency room visits at Salem (Ore.) Health. In response, the health system is offering 800 free flu shots to patients at eight of the system's locations, according to the Statesmen Journal.
The move marks the first time in recent history Salem Health has offered free influenza vaccinations. According to the Journal, approximately 350 people a day were admitted to the ER at the system's main Salem campus over the past two weeks. Statewide, more than 1,400 Oregon residents tested positive for influenza in the first week of 2017.
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"We want to reach out to people living in Marion and Polk counties to help protect them from the flu virus," said Leilani Slama, vice president of community engagement at Salem Health, according to the Journal. "This has been an especially bad year for the flu and it's not too late to get a shot. Our main goal is to make it convenient as possible for people to get those shots."
Though flu shots prevented an estimated 5 million illnesses and more than 70,000 hospitalizations in 2015, the number of Americans inoculated against the virus remained low in 2016. By November, only two in five individuals in the U.S. had been vaccinated for influenza, according to the CDC.
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