Organizations partner to prevent flu, encourage voting

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Prisma Health will partner with United Way on joint events targeting census outreach, voter registration and flu vaccinations as part of the 2020 Census Day of Action Challenge on Saturday.

Prisma Health is teaming up with Brookwood Church and United Way of Greenville County to expand its normal COVID-19 community testing site offerings for the census challenge day, according to a news release. United Way of Greenville County volunteers will be on-site to help participants complete their 2020 census forms. Attendees will also be given voter registration information but will not register on site. Prisma Health will offer free COVID-19 testing as well as free flu vaccines on a first-come, first-served basis. The event will be 8 a.m. until noon at Brookwood Church in Simpsonville.

In the Midlands, Prisma Health will provide free flu vaccines for the Day of Action event hosted by S.C. Counts 2020. That event will include COVID-19 testing, census completion and voter registration in addition to flu vaccinations. The Midlands event will be held at W.J. Keenan High School in Columbia from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

“We hope that this Saturday is a one-stop shop for the community and look forward to this partnership,” Jennifer Snow, executive director of the Prisma Health accountable communities initiative, said in the news release.

“We’re excited to partner with Prisma Health on this important Day of Action for our community,” Meghan Barp, president and CEO of United Way of Greenville County, said in the release. “To address the complex challenges we face as a community, it’s incredibly important that everyone stand up and be counted — both by voting and by completing the 2020 census.”

Anyone experiencing symptoms or awaiting test results for COVID-19 cannot receive a flu shot, according to the release. Anyone with COVID-19 must wait 20 days after learning of a positive test result before getting a flu shot.

The 2020 Census Day of Action Challenge was issued by S.C. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. The goal of the challenge is for 10,000 South Carolina households to complete the census before the end of the day.

Prisma Health last week launched an aggressive systemwide flu-vaccination campaign across 11 counties in S.C.

“Even if people have skipped getting the flu vaccination in years past, now is absolutely the year to get one,” Dr. Saria Saccocio, ambulatory chief medical officer at Prisma Health, said in the release. “Everyone is at risk for getting COVID-19 this year, which means everyone is at risk for the potential of having COVID-19 and flu at the same time. That could be catastrophic for many patients.” 

To find a Prisma Health flu-vaccination clinic near you, visit PrismaHealth.org/Flu.