We have the FluMist flu vaccine for the 2015-2016 flu season at both Fast Track Urgent Care locations. Convenient to the Silver Spring, Kensington, Wheaton, and Colesville areas, Fast Track’s walk-in clinics require no appointment for flu vaccines or any other service.
Questions? Call Fast Track at 800-417-1164 or come in!
How Does the FluMist Work?
The FluMist is a liquid vaccine that a doctor or clinician sprays into your nostrils. While the flu vaccine shot is made with killed flu virus, the FluMist is made from the live flu virus that has been significantly weakened. FluMist causes your immune system to create proteins in your blood and your nose that are able to fight the flu virus.
The FluMist vaccine is not fully functional until about two weeks after the spray is administered, so it’s important to get it as early as possible in the flu season.
Who Can Get the FluMist?
The FluMist is safe and effective for most people ages 2 to 49. Pregnant women should not get the FluMist. Your doctor will know whether or not you can safely get the FluMist vaccine, but in general, the following people should NOT get it:
- Children under 5 who have asthma
- Kids or teenagers who take aspirin
- People under the age of 2 or over the age of 50
- People who are allergic to eggs or any of the ingredients in the spray
- People with a weakened immune system
- People with diabetes, kidney failure, chronic heart disease, or a chronic lung disease like asthma
- Those who have had Guillain-Barre Syndrome within six weeks of getting the flu vaccine
What Works Better—the Flu Shot or the FluMist?
Experts have agreed that there is no real difference in the effectiveness of the FluMist over the flu vaccine injection. There is some evidence that the FluMist may be more effective in children than the shot.
Both types of flu vaccine are formulated to be as effective as they can be with the information that the Centers for Disease Control have. The flu virus changes every year and it is difficult to predict. However, you should always get the flu vaccine because it offers as much protection as you can get!
Does the Flu Vaccine Give You the Flu?
This is one of the most widely believed misconceptions out there. The flu vaccine DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE FLU. The popularity of this false rumor may stem from the fact that some flu vaccines are made with inactivated—NOT infectious—flu vaccine viruses. You 100 percent cannot get the flu from this type of vaccine, or any other type of flu vaccine.
You may experience side effects after getting the vaccine that you might mistake for flu symptoms, such as:
- A low-grade fever
- Aches
- Soreness at the injection spot
The flu mist vaccine may cause additional side effects (see above). Keep in mind that these side effects are minor compared to what you experience when contracting the real flu virus.
Get the Flu Vaccine in Silver Spring!
The best way to avoid the flu is to get the influenza vaccine—via injection or liquid spray—every year. At Fast Track Urgent Care, we offer the flu vaccine as early as we can every season.
Get a no-appointment flu vaccine in Silver Spring.
Learn more about the 2015-2016 Flu Season.
*There are some people who should not get the flu shot, including those who are allergic to chicken eggs, have had an allergic reaction to a flu vaccine in the past, have a fever, or are less than six months old.
