Mayor Gets His (Flu) Shot

Mayor Justin Elicker rolled up his sleeve and got vaccinated — against the flu, as part of a citywide effort to get shots in arms to protect New Haveners from more than just Covid.

Elicker got his shot Monday midday in a fourth-floor Health Department clinic at the municipal office building at 200 Orange St.

“Getting the flu vaccine dramatically reduces the likelihood of getting the flu or severely sick,” he said at a pre-shot press conference on the ground floor of City Hall. ​“It’s a very important thing to get. It is harmless, other than a quick shot.”

Standing alongside city Health Director Maritza Bond, Varick Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church Pastor Kelcy Steele, and Greater New Haven Clergy Association President Roger Wilkins, Elicker cited public-health pluses to getting a flu shot during the ongoing Covid pandemic.

“If we ensure we’re getting a flu vaccine in many folks across the city, it puts less strain on our hospitals,” he said. ​“It reduces the likelihood that folks are getting sick. It also reduces the likelihood that there’s disruption in schools, and disruption to work, because people may not know that they have the flu or Covid.”

Bond said that the local Health Department is closely monitoring flu cases statewide. So far, she said, the state has seen one influenza-related death this year. That number could rise because many Connecticut communities, unlike New Haven, no longer have mask mandates. Thus the importance of getting flu shots.

The city is encouraging anyone over 6 months old to get a flu shot. People can do so by going to their physician, or to a pharmacy, or to the city Health Department at 200 Orange St. or 54 Meadow St.

Steele said that his Dixwell Avenue church will also be a flu vaccination site this flu season. ​“By any means necessary, we are encouraging everyone to get their flu vaccines,” he said. ​“God wants us to administer to both mind, body, and spirit, and we must stand at the intersection of spirituality and science.”