Where do foreign residents get a flu shot, and is it free at a public health centre?

Yes, foreign residents can get a flu shot at a public health centre, and whether it is free depends on which group you fall into rather than on your nationality.

The national immunisation programme funds free influenza vaccination for specific groups — young children, older adults, and pregnant women are the standard categories. Outside those groups you pay, and the health centre rate is considerably lower than a private clinic. Being on an E-7 visa does not exclude you; what the centre checks is whether you are a registered resident of that district and which category you fall into. Since the funded groups and the age thresholds are reviewed each season, confirm the current criteria with your district health centre in Daegu rather than relying on what applied last year.

Bring your alien registration card. That is what establishes your address and therefore which centre serves you. National health insurance is not what determines the free groups, so having it does not automatically make the vaccination free, though it matters for most other treatment.

On timing, the season generally opens in autumn and centres are busiest in the first weeks. Going early is sensible, both because supply at health centres is finite and because the vaccine needs roughly two weeks to take effect. Some health centres run vaccination on set days rather than continuously, so call before travelling.

If your local centre has no appointments or you fall outside the funded groups, a neighbourhood internal medicine clinic will do it without an appointment for a modest fee. For questions in another language, the 1339 disease control counselling line and the 129 health and welfare line both handle them.