Primary Care

Protect Yourself and Your Family Against Flu and COVID

Everyday life can be stressful, but protecting your family against the flu and COVID is an easy way to take one worry off your mind.

Flu and COVID vaccines are safe and effective. And because they’re available for anyone from 6-month-olds to seniors, they can help keep everyone in your family from getting seriously ill. The flu and COVID-19 vaccines are covered by insurance, including private plans, Medicare and Medicaid. Access is also available for uninsured children and adults.

Make plans now to get the protection you need at an Eskenazi Health Center location or meet our traveling vaccination team at an upcoming event.

Find an Eskenazi Health Center Location Near You

Flu and COVID vaccines and boosters are offered at all Eskenazi Health Center primary care locations and Eskenazi Health Pharmacy locations in Indianapolis.

Children as young as 6 months and anyone older can be vaccinated or boosted at Eskenazi Heath Center primary care locations—but appointments must be made in advance. To make an appointment with a primary care location, please call Eskenazi Health Connections at 317.880.7666.

People 5 years old or older can be vaccinated or boosted at Eskenazi Health Pharmacy locations—and walk-in appointments are welcomed during regular business hours.

Eskenazi Health team members are available on-site to review vaccine options with you. Again, please note Eskenazi Health Pharmacy locations cannot administer vaccines or boosters to anyone younger than 5 years old. Vaccines for children under 5, must be done through Eskenazi Health Center primary care.

Need assistance finding a location? Please contact us at 317.880.0000.

What Should I Bring with Me?

Your COVID Vaccination Record

If you’ve already received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, please bring the COVID vaccination record card that was given to you. If you need a vaccination certificate to provide proof that you have received the vaccine, you can get one through Access Indiana’s Vaccination Portal. If you can’t find your COVID vaccination record card and don’t have access to the internet, we can look your record up for you when you come in for your vaccine.

Please note that Eskenazi Health does not offer replacement vaccination record cards.

Your Insurance Card

If you have an insurance card, please bring it. The COVID-19 vaccine is covered by insurance, including private plans, Medicare, and Medicaid. Access is also available for uninsured children and adults.

Vaccine Appointments for Children

Children 6 Months to 15 Years Old

Any child between 6 months and 15 years old must be accompanied by an adult. If that adult is not the child’s parent or legal guardian, consent from a parent or legal guardian must be submitted in advance.

COVID vaccines for children ages 6 months and older are available through Eskenazi Health Center sites by appointment only. Appointments can be made by calling Eskenazi Health Connections at 317.880.7666.

Children Aged 16 or 17 Years Old

Ideally, children aged 16 or 17 will also bring a parent or guardian with them. But if that’s not possible, a parent or guardian may provide written or verbal authorization.

REFORMULATED COVID-19 VACCINE NOW AVAILABLE

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a reformulated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for 2023-2024 that provides an increased immune protection to help combat the new COVID-19 strains and the upcoming season.

Learn More About the Reformatted mRNA Vaccine

The updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are now available. If you have not received a COVID-19 vaccine in the past two months, get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect yourself this fall and winter.

Last season, those who received a 2022-2023 COVID-19 vaccine saw greater protection against illness and hospitalization than those who did not receive a 2022-2023 vaccine. To date, hundreds of millions of people have safely received a COVID-19 vaccine under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history.

This is the first fall and winter virus season where vaccines are available for the three viruses responsible for most hospitalizations – COVID-19, RSV and flu. In addition to safe, updated COVID-19 vaccines, at-home tests for the virus can identify infection so you can protect your family, coworkers and the general public. If you do get sick, talk to your doctor about proven, effective treatments that can reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death.

Want More Information?

You can visit this page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to learn more about the available options.

Once you arrive at the Eskenazi Health Center site or Eskenazi Health Pharmacy location, you can also ask the staff which vaccine option is right for you.

Vaccine Cost

Most Americans can get a flu and COVID-19 vaccine for free. For people with health insurance, most plans will cover COVID-19 vaccine at no cost to you. People who don’t have health insurance or with health plans that do not cover the cost can get a free vaccine from their local health centers; state, local, tribal, or territorial health department; and pharmacies participating in the CDC’s Bridge Access Program.

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COMMON QUESTIONS WHEN GETTING THE COVID VACCINE

My child needs shots for school. Is it safe to get other immunizations at the same time as the COVID vaccine?

Receiving multiple vaccines at the same time, called coadministration, is a common clinical practice. The COVID vaccine can be administered at the same time or near other immunizations required by schools, including MMR (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine), HPV (human papillomavirus vaccine, or Gardasil 9), whooping cough and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, or Boostrix). Eskenazi Health Center sites can administer these for you; there’s no need to make separate trips.
Is it safe to get a flu shot and a COVID vaccine or booster at the same time?

According to the CDC, studies and clinical trials indicate that getting your flu shot and COVID vaccine at the same time is safe—and saves you time.

What’s in the COVID vaccine?

Vaccine ingredients vary by manufacturer. None of the vaccines contain eggs, gelatin, latex or preservatives. All COVID vaccines are free from metals, such as iron, nickel, cobalt, lithium and rare earth alloys. They are also free from manufactured products such as microchips, electrodes, carbon nanotubes and nanowire semiconductors. None of the COVID vaccines authorized or approved in the United States contain any live virus.
What side effects does the COVID vaccine cause?

The effects vary from person to person. Some people have no side effects at all. Other people experience symptoms that can include a sore arm, a mild fever or a rash. All side effects typically disappear within a few days (and they’re proof that your body is building antibodies to fight future illness). In any case, a day or two of mild discomfort is better than suffering through a week or more of COVID.
I already had COVID. Do I still need to get vaccinated?

Yes. People who already had COVID and do not get vaccinated after their recovery are actually more likely to get COVID again than those who get vaccinated after their recovery.
Can healthy people in good shape skip the vaccine?

People of good health should still get vaccinated. For the best protection, the CDC recommends that anyone over the age of 6 months get vaccinated against COVID. Remember, this vaccination doesn’t just protect you. It can help protect your family, friends and loved ones, too.

Some people in my family and neighborhood don’t trust the COVID vaccine. Why should I?

After years of COVID, the CDC has been able to study and prove the effectiveness of those vaccines—and scientists have worked hard to make updated versions of vaccines more effective against new variants.

Eskenazi Health works to bring health care to every person in every neighborhood. By getting free vaccinations now, you can help to change health outcomes for your entire community.
If I’m an immigrant, can I still get vaccinated against COVID for free?

Yes. The CDC has stated that COVID vaccines are available to anyone—including undocumented immigrants—regardless of their citizenship status.
If English is not my first language, do I have a right to interpretation or translation services when getting a COVID vaccine?

Yes. Federal law and civil rights protections ensure that people with limited English language skills are entitled to interpretation or translation services to help them communicate with health care providers who receive federal funding.

Eskenazi Health provides language services for patients who prefer to communicate in their native language. Over 170 languages are supported via interpreters, video conferencing and over-the-phone services. Patients are asked to notify Eskenazi Health staff if they need interpretation services during their hospital stay or appointment.
Will the vaccine provider ask me for a driver’s license, a Social Security number or another form of identification?

You will be asked to provide some form of identification before Eskenazi Health Center registers you as a patient. If you have no identification, you will be asked to fill out an identification form with a field requesting your Social Security number. If you do not have a Social Security number, that field may be left blank.

Insurance Fair

Dates: Dec. 02, 2023

Open enrollment for health care coverage through the federal Marketplace runs from Wednesday, Nov. 1 to Monday, Jan. 15. To help the community prepare for open enrollment, Eskenazi Health is hosting an insurance fair on Saturday, Dec. 2. Eskenazi Health Financial Eligibility Services will be available to assist with all things Marketplace and Medicaid, including eligibility.

The event will start at 10 a.m. and conclude at 2 p.m. The location is the Financial Eligibility Services suite and Eli Lilly and Company Foundation Concourse on the Eskenazi Health downtown campus at 720 Eskenazi Ave.

Attendees may park for free in the public parking garage at Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital, accessible from Dr. Harvey Middleton Way, or access the event using public transportation via the IndyGo Route 10 – 10th Street.

Attendees will have an opportunity to schedule an appointment with Eskenazi Health Financial Eligibility Services to determine if they qualify for any applicable health coverage or discount programs. Eskenazi Health continues to remind patients covered by Medicaid to visit FSSABenefits.IN.gov to report any changes and check eligibility. This needs to be done to ensure patients do not lose their health care coverage through Medicaid. Eligibility redeterminations have resumed and a return to normal operations is expected by July 2024.

At the insurance fair on Dec. 2, flu and COVID-19 vaccines will be available. There will also be fun activities for the entire family and free drinks and snacks. Radio One will be onsite providing music and conducting interviews.

To learn more about the 2024 open enrollment period, please visit www.healthcare.gov. Appointments can be scheduled with financial counselors by calling 1.855.202.1053 or online through Eskenazi Health MyChart.

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