News
Meritus Health wants community to take its ‘best shot’ against viral illness
Experts say flu and COVID boosters will arm community against serious illness
Pat Benatar’s popular song, “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” has been no stranger to dance parties, radio speakers or karaoke performances over the past 40 years. It’s now the inspiration for a fall public health campaign being shared by Meritus Health to encourage community members to get their COVID-19 boosters and flu shots.
“For the past two Novembers, we’ve noticed an uptick of viral illness,” explained Meritus Health president and CEO, Maulik Joshi, Dr.P.H. “We wanted to share a fact-based message that would resonate, and ‘hit me with your best shot’ really is a good way of thinking about how vaccines protect us from serious illness.”
Meritus Health’s campaign will kick off in November, featuring colorful artwork and catchy social media posts that might sound a little familiar.
“We are hoping to make the information relatable and retainable,” Joshi said. “We have all heard a lot of information about COVID and flu, but this is the season to use those facts to make an informed decision. Public outreach and education save lives, and we want people to arm themselves with their best shot against what we know to be two serious viral illnesses; COVID and the flu.”
Meritus is offering appointments to eligible patients, aged five years and older, for the COVID booster. MyChart users who qualify for a booster will see a step-by-step prompt in their app under the ‘Schedule an Appointment’ activity under the MyChart menu.
As for the flu vaccine, the CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get a shot.
“We have had a lot of focus on COVID education during the pandemic, but we don’t want people to be caught unarmed against the flu,” Joshi said. “It is safe to get flu and COVID shots at the same time, so we are telling our patients to ‘fire away.’”
