We strongly encourage getting the flu vaccination. Getting the flu vaccine each year helps keep families healthy, keeps children in school and reduces the spread of the flu. This is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have questions about the flu vaccine, you may contact your doctor’s office, call us at 865-215-5000 or visit https://www.cdc.gov/flu/.
Get your flu shot, not the flu! Flu vaccines will also be offered at all KCHD clinic locations. Please call to make an appointment.
Main (140 Dameron Ave) | 865-215-5000
West (1028 Old Cedar Bluff Road) | 865-215-5950
Vaccine Record
To get your child’s flu vaccination record for yourself or your pediatrician’s office, click here (en español presione aquíy) to download the medical records request form or call 865-215-5024.
#WeCanForLeeAnn
#WeCanForLeeAnn is our annual campaign for Knox County to get their flu shot, an inspiration taken from an unfortunate reminder from a loved one lost. Don & Leeann Samples were Knoxville residents, moving here in 1994. They were hard workers of the community and foster parents.
Just before Christmas of 2013, Leeann got sick. When January arrived and it didn’t appear Leeann was getting any better, Don took her to the doctor. Her blood-oxygen level was so low, she was immediately taken to the hospital. A doctor called Don early the next morning and told him that Leeann had not only the flu, but also flu complications of double pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. The doctor told Don that Leeann’s chances of surviving the illness were less than 30 percent.
Leeann spent the next six weeks in the hospital. She returned home in mid-February, but never fully recovered. She died in April 2014. Leeann was just 46 years old.
“We just didn’t get the flu shot,” Don recalls. “We were of the mindset that if we got the flu, we’d be sick for a few days, get up and move on.”
Don remembers well the conversation he had with Leeann’s doctor. “The doctor asked me if she got a flu shot. I said, ‘no.’ He said, ‘if she got it, she wouldn’t likely be here right now.’ That hit me hard.”
#WeCanForLeeann began in 2014, with Don asking people to get a flu shot on Leeann's birthday, October 29th. Click here to read the full story.
In-School Flu Vaccination Program
The Knox County Health Department (KCHD) will offer influenza (flu) vaccinations to children in several Knox County schools during October and November. This year FluMist, the nasal spray vaccine, will be offered. The list of scheduled schools and projected schedule for Fall 2022 is available here.
- These clinics are geared towards making the flu vaccine available to anyone in the community, with a special emphasis on school-aged children and their families. This program provides a way for parents to get their child vaccinated without having to take time off work or take their child out of school.
KCHD will have both FluMist and flu shots available at each of the clinic locations. Vaccine will be available for those who are insured and uninsured, and all vaccinations will have no copay.
- Flu vaccinations will be offered to children ages six months and up.
- High-dose flu vaccine will not be available at these clinics, but is available at other providers in town.
- Please note that the FluMist contains a small amount of porcine (pork) gelatin; the flu shot does not contain any porcine products.
Consent Forms
No child will be vaccinated without a completed, signed and returned consent form.
- Paper consent forms are available from the schools or by clicking here.
- KCHD el formulario de consentimiento para el estudiante.
What if we miss our school's date or our school is not included this year?
Parents/guardians may take the children to either Knox County health department location for an influenza vaccine. Please call 865-215-5000 to make an appointment.
Payment:
To sustain the program and remove barriers to vaccination for all kids, KCHD bills insurance for the vaccination. If parents/guardians have insurance, they should complete the insurance information on the consent form. We will not send a bill to parents/guardians or charge a co-pay; we will only bill the insurance company.
If you have more questions about influenza vaccination, contact your school nurse, call your doctor’s office, or go to www.cdc.gov/flu. You may also email us health@knoxcounty.org.
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