ALL PATIENTS:
Flu Vaccines
12/5/2022
This Flu season the physicians at GMA have once again elected to administer Flublok. Flublok is: 1) a higher dose vaccine – 3 times the strength of the regular dose 2) quadrivalent – covers 4 strains instead of just 3 and 3) Recommended for patients 18 years and older. If you are a patient of Guilford Medical and have not been vaccinated, please remind the staff to give you a vaccine when you come in for your regular appointment, come in on Thursdays from 10am-12pm | 2pm-4pm or call to set up a time to come in and receive your vaccination.
GMA COVID Update
9/2/22
The FDA and CDC have now authorized an updated bivalent COVID vaccine for anyone over the age of 12 who has completed their primary vaccine series (two Pfizer or Moderna shots or one J&J shot). The Pfizer booster will be available to anyone age 12 and older and Moderna will be available to anyone age 18 and older. They have advised waiting at least 2 months after your most recent COVID vaccine to get the new booster. This new bivalent vaccine is similar to the original booster shots but will include a new protein that will provide additional protection against Omicron variants, including BA.4 and BA.5 which are the predominant strains we are seeing currently. We encourage all of our patients to get this new booster shot as we continue to see high levels of COVID activity in our community. We hope that this new booster will help to minimize a spike in cases as we enter the fall and winter holiday season.
GMA has ordered both Pfizer and Moderna shots and will update our website once we receive them to inform our patients of opportunities to receive them at our office. In the meantime, we would encourage you to get your updated booster wherever it is available including pharmacies or health department. You can find vaccination locations at: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines
Our second line of defense, oral antivirals Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, are readily available for higher risk patients (those over 65, those with chronic medical conditions, or unvaccinated people) who test positive for COVID. These prescriptions need to be started within 5 days of the onset of symptoms so we encourage testing if you develop symptoms. At home rapid tests can be purchased in the pharmacies. If you do test positive you should isolate for at least 5 days. If your symptoms are improving you can discontinue isolation after day 5 but should wear a well-fitting medical grade mask (n95, kn95 masks are preferred) for an additional 5 days to prevent transmission to others.
What about Monkeypox?:
-Monkeypox has been reported in NC and Guilford County.
-99% of cases are males. Nearly all cases in NC have been in men who reported having sex with men.
-it is spread primarily through direct skin to skin contact with someone who has monkeypox.
-Testing is encouraged if you had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with monkeypox, or have symptoms of monkeypox including unexplained bumps, sores, blisters, or pimples that look like monkeypox.
-Vaccines are currently available at the health department for:
- Anyone who had close contact in the past two weeks with someone who has been diagnosed with monkeypox, or
- Gay or bisexual men or transgender individuals who report any of the following in the last 90 days:
- Having multiple sex partners or anonymous sex
- Being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection
- Receiving medications to prevent HIV infection (PrEP)
- Vaccines are not recommended for others at this time.
Patient Portal
To sign up on the patient portal, please click on the following link and enroll now: https://health.healow.com/GuilfordMedicalAssoc
Thank you for entrusting your medical care to the doctors and staff at Guilford Medical Associates, PA.
Closings or Delays:
Changes to regularly scheduled hours due to severe weather conditions will be posted here and also on the WFMY News2 website under closings & delays.
The office will be closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Office Hours:
Office hours are 8am – 5pm Monday through Friday.
For a non-emergency appointment please contact our office at 336 621-8911 or through the patient portal.
A doctor is always on call 24/7 for urgent medical issues.
Guilford Medical Associates Employee Group Medical Insurance https://www.bluecrossnc.com/about-us/policies-and-best-practices/transparency-coverage-mrf#