Estes Park Health Adds Two Flu and COVID Vaccine Clinics in October
Oct. 10, 2025: As the temperatures cool and flu season gathers steam, there is still time to receive your annual influenza and COVID vaccines.
Estes Park Health is offering two additional flu and COVID vaccine clinics in October: Wednesday, Oct. 22 and Tuesday, Oct. 28. Both clinics will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Appointments are available every five minutes during the clinic hours. Appointments are for one person only; spouses and families should make sequential appointments if they come to the clinic together.
To schedule an appointment, call Clinic Registration at 970-586-2200. When scheduling the appointment, please let the scheduler know if you plan to get the flu, COVID or both vaccines. No other vaccines will be offered at these clinics.
The 2024-2025 flu season was the worst in 20 years, according to a statement in March 2025 from Dr. Rachel Herlihy, Colorado’s state epidemiologist. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2025-2026 Respiratory Disease Season Outlook, released on Aug. 25, this year may have a similar number of respiratory hospitalizations as last year, including from influenza.
Seasonal influenza, or the flu, can occur any time of the year but cases increase in the fall and winter, with the peak arriving in December, January and February. The flu virus thrives in cold, dry environments, the equivalent to those experienced in winter.
The virus also survives longer outside of the body in these conditions and lower humidity in the air allows the respiratory droplets that contain the virus to travel farther, similar to how baseballs fly farther in arid Colorado than places like humid Florida.
As people spend more time indoors to retreat from the cold and gather for holidays, transmission also increases and infection rates rise.
For people with chronic conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, contracting COVID and flu can lead to more serious complications. The CDC reports that multiple studies have shown a reduction in flu-related worsening of chronic conditions and a reduction in the risk of being admitted to an ICU with flu for those who have received a flu vaccination.
To help reduce the severity of the uncomfortable symptoms of the flu, including a fever, cough, sore throat, headaches and body aches, and to prevent the chance of being hospitalized or developing complications from flu, schedule a flu vaccine.
The American Academy of Pediatrics issued influenza vaccine guidelines on Sept. 22, stating all children starting at six months of age without medical contraindications should receive an annual influenza vaccine. With this advice, pediatric vaccines are also now available at EPH.
Flu vaccines are covered by insurance and the COVID vaccine is covered by most insurance. Medicare and Medicaid will pay for COVID vaccines.
If using private insurance, please call your insurance company to see if they will cover the COVID vaccine before arriving at the hospital for your appointment. If your insurance company does not cover the COVID vaccine, the cost of the vaccine is $250. The hospital offers a 25% discount if the vaccine(s) are paid for on the same day as the vaccine clinic appointment.
For more information or if you have questions, please contact Clinic Registration at 970-586-2200. To schedule other vaccines, please schedule a nurse visit or contact your primary care physician’s office for an appointment.