Archive for December, 2017

It’s not too late to stop in the pharmacy and get a flu vaccine.

Flu season often starts in October and runs all the way in to May. Peak flu season is usually between December and February! So even if you are thinking it’s too late for the vaccine, it is not. In fact, since it takes about two weeks to develop the antibodies to fight off the flu, the sooner you come by, the sooner your body can begin working to fight off flu germs.

No one wants to be sick during the holiday season and one of the best defenses against that is getting a simple vaccine.

Sometimes, people say that the last time they received the flu vaccine, they became ill. The flu vaccines cannot give you the flu. However, if you have encountered the flu before getting your vaccine and then you are vaccinated, it may seem like there was a cause and effect relationship. The real reasoning behind this, however, is that it takes two weeks for your immune system to be able to fight off the flu. If you encounter the flu before then, your body is not ready with the necessary antibodies and you may become ill. But the flu vaccine was not the culprit.

Getting the flu vaccine saves lives. As the infograph above shows, in 2012-2013, the vaccine prevented 6.6 million flu-related illnesses and 79,000 hospitalizations!

If you have any questions about getting your flu vaccine, please ask to speak to Joe, Mark, Paul, Meghan, or any of our other pharmacists.

You can also gain more knowledge by reading several interesting articles on the CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) web site:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.htm

For more information, visit the CDC’s Facebook page HERE.

This year will mark the 22nd Annual Christmas in the Park in Garrette Park in West Jefferson. The event will take place from Friday, December 8 through Sunday, December 10 from 5:30 to 10 pm.

Christmas in the Park gets underway with the Opening Ceremonies at 5:30 pm on Friday evening when Santa arrives and turns on the park lights. Music will be performed by the West Jefferson High School Jazz Band and Choir.

Following Santa’s arrival, you can visit with him and stop by his workshop. There will also be carriage rides and concessions.

On Saturday, December 9, the Parade of Lights heads out at 5:30 pm from the American Legion and winds its way through town to Garrette Park.

For more information on the parade and how you can participate, go HERE.

There will be a Home Decorating Contest that will be judged the week of December 4-8. The winners will be announced on Sunday evening at 7:45 pm with cash prizes for the top three best decorated houses.

To learn how you can enter the Home Decorating Contest, please go HERE.

To find out more and see the full schedule of events, visit the Christmas in the Park web site HERE.

Donations are always needed, including donations of time as volunteers are essential to help on each night of the event and in preparation beforehand.

Monetary donations can be sent to: Christmas in the Park, PO Box 262, West Jefferson, OH 43162.

Christmas in the Park is an extension of the not for profit corporation, West Jefferson Community Association, and is comprised of volunteer citizens in the community.

Like Christmas in the Park on Facebook HERE.