Flu Shots/Influenza

Flu Shots at the Health Department

Flu-Fighter
McLean County Health Department provides flu vaccine to adults and children with private health insurance, Medicaid and Medicare.

The health department provides no-cost flu vaccine for VFC eligible children. Eligible families are uninsured, underinsured, or on Medicaid and residents of McLean County.

An out-of-pocket cost of $30.00 is an option for those who choose not to access their insurance or for adults who are without health insurance.
For Adults:
To schedule a flu shot appointment, call (309) 888-5435. If no one answers, please leave your name and number, and your call will be returned.

For Children:
To schedule a child flu shot appointment, call (309) 888-5455. The health department provides flu vaccine to children ages 6 months through 18 years old.

More about Seasonal Flu


Seasonal influenza (flu) is a serious and highly contagious respiratory illness caused by a virus. Some people who get the flu have relatively mild illness, while other cases are more severe and can even lead to death. A typical flu season runs from October through April, with illnesses peeking in January and February. Although, 2009 H1N1 flu season proved that the flu is anything but predictable.

Flu is often confused with a common cold, but the symptoms are different. Symptoms of a cold are far less severe than flu symptoms and require different treatment.

Symptoms of flu:

  • fever of 100.4 or above
  • severe chills and body aches
  • fatigue
  • mild sniffles
  • dry cough
  • sore throat
  • severe chest discomfort

Symptoms of common cold:

  • a slight fever
  • mild chills
  • slight body aches
  • runny nose
  • mucus-producing cough
  • sore throat
  • mild chest discomfort

Who Should Get a Flu Shot?


Everyone! The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against the flu every year. Getting the flu vaccination is especially important for those who are more at risk for flu complications. This includes:

  • pregnant women
  • young children
  • people 65 years of age and older
  • people with an underlying health condition such as asthma or diabetes 
Even healthy people can get extremely ill and even die from the flu. In 2009, Alex Haines, a teenager from Bloomington, IL was hospitalized for weeks due to the H1N1 flu virus. Watch Alex's flu recovery story below.

Flu Prevention


In addition to getting your flu shot, practice the Three C's to keep healthy during flu season.

  • Clean: Clean your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or about the time it takes to sing the ABC's. Hand sanitizer works in a pinch, but soap and water is best.
  • Cover: Cover your nose or mouth when you cough or sneeze. Ideally, use a tissue or the crook of your arm so that you don't pass germs from your hands to other surfaces.
  • Contain: Contain germs by staying at home if you are sick, or by keeping your kids home from school if they are sick.

Community Outreach and On-Site Flu Clinics


In order to help protect the community by preventing the spread of flu, the health department is utilizing a more consumer-friendly approach designed to bring services closer or directly to the people. Our goal is to provide flu clinics to rural parts of the county with less access to the seasonal flu shot and vaccinate concentrated groups on work sites for convenience purposes before illness circulates in our community.

Over 3000 adults in McLean County were immunized against influenza through outreach efforts in the fall of 2016. Local and county school districts hosted clinics in order to offer flu shots to their teachers and staff. A growing number of small businesses also recognized the importance of protecting the health of their workforce and requested on-site flu clinics for their employees.

If a business or government agency is interested in hosting an on-site flu clinic, please call (309) 888-5489 for information.