St. Raphael’s Catholic Church in Lehigh Acres will not be hosting a site for Visiting Nurses Association of Southwest Florida to administer the season flu shots this year.

That was the word this week from VNA President and CEO Anna Vanon who told The Citizen that the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice had decided that the Catholic churches of the diocese would not participate in the flu shot program.

“I do not know the reasons the bishop made the change, but we are available in other areas of the county and in Lehigh,” Vanon said.

The VNA will be at the Medicine Shoppe on Oct. 14 and again on Nov. 11. The Medicine Shoppe is located in the Lehigh Towne Center at the corner of Alabama and Homestead roads.

Flu vaccine shots are $30 and Pneumonia shots are $45. However, the shots are covered with Medicare Part B and some other insurances.

Lehigh Regional Medical Center will also host the VNA to use the hospital for vaccination clinics. VNA was at LRMC on Oct. 7 and will return on Wednesday, Nov. 11 rom 9:30 a.m. to noon. The cost for the seasonal flu vaccine is $25 The pneumonia vaccine will be offered at $45. Those prices are in the same category anywhere you get a flu shot.

As at any other VNA location in the county, patients must bring heir Medicare card with them. For more information about insurance, you can call 239-337-4848 with any questions about the vaccines and the insurance that covers them.

The seasonal flu vaccine does not cover the H1N1 (commonly known as the Swine Flu.) Officials at LRMC said they did not plan any clinics for the H1N1 vaccine for the public.

LRMC officials said the H1N1 vaccination availability will be announced by the Lee County Health Dept. and where it will be available to the public.

You can also get information about the Swine Flu online at www.cdc.gov.

Vanon said Medicare and other insurances will pay for the shots for some people. If you have Medicare Part B, RR Medicare, Universal and United Healthcare Insurance as long as you have your insurance card with you. VNA will not accept any other insurance, Vanon said.

This year shots are being offered in sites such as Walgreens drug stores which advertises that you can walk in get a shot.

Abed Arian, the druggist at the Medicine Shoppe said the shots have to be given by a certified pharmacist. He has chosen not to become involved in administering shots because he is needed behind the counter filling prescriptions for his many clients, he said.

The VNA was also expected to be at the Presbyterian Homes at 1301 Woodward Court on Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. to 1. Not only are residents of Presbyterian Homes eligible to get the vaccine, but members of the public can turn out there, too.

Joan Greissing, who works with the flu shot program for VNA, noted that the organization is a not-for-profit group. She said dozens of nurses participate in the activities of the VNA of Southwest Florida.

Visiting Nurses Association President Anna Vanon said she thinks the people may be more complacent about shots this year.

“They hear so much in the media about both the seasonal flu shots and the Swine Flu shots that they are not sure what they might want to do, but we are urging people to get their regular flu shot,” she said.

“As for the Swine Flu shots, we will be offering them, too, but only when the government sends them to this county and that word will come from the health department and then we will set up sites in the county to administer those shots.

She said many physicians are also ordering flu shots for their patients and that may be the reason there are not as many VNA sites as in previous years in some areas of the county.