11/Dec/15 / 20:15

Connecticut Food Bank and Protein Sciences
Partner to Offer Flublok® Influenza Vaccine
at Mobile Pantry in Winsted

 

WALLINGFORD, CONN., December 11, 2015 – A partnership with Protein Sciences Corporation will help visitors to the Connecticut Food Bank Mobile Pantry in Winsted to stretch limited food budgets by supporting healthier families.

 

The Protein Sciences FastVax mobile vaccination clinic, a joint effort between Protein Sciences Corporation and Hunter’s Ambulance, will join the Connecticut Food Bank Mobile Pantry to offer Flublok® Influenza Vaccine at the community food distribution set for Thursday, December 17 at 12:00 noon. The Mobile Pantry is hosted at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted in the Holabird Avenue parking lot.

 

“This partnership with Protein Sciences brings an additional resource to the community along with fresh, nutritious food,” said Connecticut Food Bank Interim CEO Paul O’Leary. “Together we can help the people reduce the potential impact of illness on their budgets. Thanks to Protein Sciences for helping us fight hunger in creative ways.”

 

O’Leary said the addition of the FastVax clinic in Winsted on December 17 is part of an ongoing program with Protein Sciences. “We are excited to add this site to the schedule this year.”

 

“The flu season is just around the corner and getting vaccinated is the best way people can keep themselves and their families healthy this winter,” said Protein Sciences President and CEO Manon Cox.  “Vaccination not only protects you but also prevents you from giving the flu to others, including those that may be at greater risk of developing serious complications from the flu.  We launched our FastVax mobile vaccination clinic to provide people access to our Flublok vaccine, which is a pure, safe and effective vaccine we make here in Connecticut.  We are so pleased to be working with the Connecticut Food Bank to expand our reach and bring vaccine to additional communities.”

 

The Healthy Choices FastVax clinic will offer Flublok to adults 18 years and older. Insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, will be accepted with no co-pay. Protein Sciences will provide vaccinations free of charge to those that do not have insurance. For more information about Flublok or the Connecticut Food Bank, please visit www.flublok.com or www.ctfoodbank.org.

 

The Connecticut Food Bank Mobile Pantry has the agility to meet changing needs in communities, helping to address food deserts and transportation barriers that make it difficult for food insecure people to access the adequate nutrition they need. Last year, the Mobile Pantry distributed more than 1.8 million pounds of dairy products, fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grain goods and other perishable items directly to people in need. Currently, the Connecticut Food Bank operates 31 mobile pantries, with each site serving an average 120 to 325 households. The full Mobile Pantry schedule is available at www.ctfoodbank.org/mobilepantry.

 

About Protein Sciences:

Protein Sciences specializes in vaccine development and protein production.   Our mission is our inspiration: to save lives and improve health through the creation of innovative vaccines and biopharmaceuticals.  Flublok, the world’s first recombinant protein-based vaccine for the prevention of seasonal influenza disease, is approved in the U.S. for adults 18 years and older.  Flublok is the only flu vaccine made in a 100% egg-free system using modern cell culture technology, making it unnecessary to use an infectious influenza virus or antibiotics in manufacturing.  Flublok is highly purified and does not contain any preservatives (e.g., thimerosal, a mercury derivative), egg proteins, gelatin or latex.  For more information, please visit www.proteinsciences.com and www.flublok.com.

 

About the Connecticut Food Bank:

The Connecticut Food Bank is the state’s non-profit leader in the fight against hunger and the largest provider of charitable food donations. Some 700 partners and programs depend on the Connecticut Food Bank as a lifeline to nutritious food for the communities they serve. The Connecticut Food Bank partnered last year with retailers, donors, volunteers and growers to provide enough food to prepare more than 18 million meals to more than 300,000 people across 127 cities and towns in six Connecticut counties. Visit us on the web at www.ctfoodbank.org, like us Facebook and follow @CTFoodBank on Twitter.

 

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