The Dallas County Health Department will hold a walk-in clinic Friday, where they will provide free flu shots.

The clinic, which is open to the public, will be held from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. No appointments are necessary.

“Most people have to go to a pharamacy and end up having to pay [for the flu shot],” Crystal Blackmon, a registered nurse with the Dallas County Health Department said. “Some of them don’t have insurance or don’t have the money to pay for it.”

According to the Center for Disease Control website, influenza is different each year and is hard to predict.

The typical flu season runs from the end of September through March, Blackmon said. The CDC said the best way to reduce the chance of getting the seasonal flu is by getting a flu shot, which also reduces how far the virus can spread in the community.

“We try to get everybody to get the flu shot, so that we won’t have such big disasters with the flu,” Blackmon said.

The flu vaccine helps protect against the influenza viruses that are expected to be among the most common each flu season. About two weeks after vaccination, antibodies are formed within the body.

Traditional flu vaccines are made to protect against three flu viruses — influenza A (H1N1), an influenza A (H3N2), and an influenza B virus.