With the FDA's approval and CDC's recommendation, the new and improved Pfizer and Moderna COVID boosters designed to fight against the dominant Omicron variants are now available.

Steele County Public Health is holding free COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics every Wednesday from 11 am to 5 pm in the Steele County Public Health Building at 635 Florence Avenue in Owatonna.

Why Are Booster Shots Necessary?

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No appointment is necessary. You can sign-up for your vaccine HERE, or just drive up. You choose what works best for you. Call 507-444-7650 for more information.

If you have COVID-19, please wait to schedule until after you have completed your 10 day isolation period and have recovered.

If you're trying to decide if you should get the COVID-19 vaccination, Steele County Public Health is here to help you. They have healthcare professionals that can answer your questions by calling 507-444-7650.

And since we're talking about vaccinations, it's also time for us to get our annual flu shots (because nobody wants the full-blown flu). Flu shots are available for as little as $0 at local health care providers and area pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, and Hy-Vee.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Influenza (flu) vaccines (often called “flu shots”) are vaccines that protect against the four influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Most flu vaccines are “flu shots” given with a needle, usually in the arm, but there also is a nasal spray flu vaccine.

According for the CDC, flu vaccine prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year. For example, during 2019-2020, the last flu season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations, and 6,300 influenza-associated deaths.

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