FLORENCE – Pinal County Public Health will begin providing flu shots to the public on Monday, October 1, 2012 by appointment only. For your convenience, and to ensure short wait times, we will begin scheduling appointments starting Monday, September 24, 2012 and continuing through the end of October. In order to schedule appointments for adults, please call toll free 1-888-431-1311, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Children may be vaccinated on a walk-in basis.

Flu shots through the Pinal County Public Health Services District are just $15, a bargain compared to the cost of cold and flu medicines or trips to the doctor's office and missed work. If you are unable to schedule an appointment, the opportunity to receive a flu shot as a “walk-in” will be available on the following days after October 20, 2012:

Kearny – 3rd Wednesday 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Oracle – 4th Wednesday 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Mammoth –Thursdays & Saturdays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Superior - 2nd Wednesday 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Apache Junction – Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Coolidge – Thursdays & Fridays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Casa Grande – Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Eloy – Tuesdays & Wednesdays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Maricopa – Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
San Tan Valley – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Special Closures for Training/Holidays:All Pinal County Public Health clinics will be closed Tuesday, October 2, Monday, October 8, Tuesday, November 6, Monday, November 12 and Thursday, November 22.

Children can receive a flu shot without an appointment at their local Pinal County Public Health clinic.

In order to reduce that chance of catching the flu this season, the Public Health Department recommends frequent hand washing using soap and warm water for 30 seconds. If you do become ill, it is important to stay home to help prevent spreading the illness to others. To schedule an appointment for your flu shot or for more information on influenza and vaccinations, please call the Pinal County Citizen Contact Center 1-888-431-1311. For a complete list of clinic locations with addresses, click on http://goo.gl/aT0YO.


Proposed Sidebar:


The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends an annual flu vaccine as the first and best way to protect against influenza. This recommendation is the same even during years when the vaccine composition (the viruses the vaccine protects against) remains unchanged from the previous season.

• There are two reasons for getting a yearly flu vaccine:
• The first reason is that because flu viruses are constantly changing, flu vaccines may be updated from one season to the next to protect against the most recent and most commonly circulating viruses.
• The second reason that annual vaccination is recommended is that a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time and annual vaccination is needed for optimal protection.
• Several studies conducted over different flu seasons and involving different influenza viruses and types of flu vaccine have shown that a person’s protection against influenza viruses declines over the course of a year after vaccination, particularly in the elderly. So, a flu shot given during one season may not provide adequate protection through later seasons (see reference section below).
• The decline in protection against the flu that occurs after vaccination or after flu infection may be influenced by several factors, including a person’s age, the antigen used in the vaccine, and the person’s health situation (for example, chronic health conditions that weaken the immune system may have an impact).
• This decline in protection has the potential to leave some people more vulnerable to infection, illness and possibly serious complications from the same influenza viruses a year after being vaccinated.

The Timing of Vaccination

• This fall, everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated against the flu as soon as the 2012-13 influenza vaccines become available, even if they got vaccinated last season.
• CDC recommends that influenza vaccination begin as soon as 2012-13 flu vaccine becomes available and continue throughout the flu season. People should begin getting vaccinated as soon as vaccine becomes available in their community.
• It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. Influenza season can begin as early as October and is unpredictable. Therefore, CDC recommends vaccination efforts begin as soon as vaccine becomes available to ensure that as many people as possible are protected before flu season begins.