A drive-thru isn’t just for fast food, but also fast vaccinations.
The Bartholomew County Health Department is offering a quick and easy way for local residents to get a flu shot and protect themselves as the flu season approaches.
Its drive-thru flu clinic, offered for the fourth consecutive year, will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at FairOaks Mall, in the parking lot where the farmers market is conducted near 25th Street.
The cost is $20 for the quadrivalent vaccine, which protects against four strains of flu, and $40 for the high dose, which is intended for people 65 and older. Most insurances can be billed, said Amanda Organist, the heath department’s director of nursing.
The popularity of the drive-thru flu clinic has been increasing, Organist said. It drew about 50 people the first year, but 153 last year, she said.
“We’ve had people calling and asking when our drive-thru is going to be,” Organist said.
People locally can receive the flu shot from the comfort of their vehicle. All it takes is about 5 minutes per person to get paperwork, payment and the shot completed, she said.
“It’s very efficient,” Organist said.
Prevention measure
Last winter, an estimated 80,000 Americans died from the flu and complications from the illness, a figure well above the typical range of deaths from the flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday.
The flu is an infection of the nose, throat and lungs, caused by the influenza virus. People can protect themselves from the flu by covering their mouth when coughing or sneezing, washing their hands with soap and water and getting a flu shot, the CDC said.
Seasonal flu activity often begins as early as October and can continue to occur as late as May, commonly peaking in the United States between December and February, the CDC reports. But timing varies in different parts of the country and from season to season, the agency said.
U.S. health officials stressed the importance of vaccinations to protect against whatever flu circulates this coming winter during a media event Thursday in Washington, D.C.
The vaccine the health department is administering locally targets four flu strains:
Influenza A subtype H1N1
Influenza A subtype H3N2
Influenza B/Colorado Victoria lineage
Influenza B/Phuket Yamagata lineage
It’s not easy to compare flu seasons through history, partly because the nation’s population is changing. There are more Americans — and more elderly Americans — today than in decades past, said Dr. Daniel Jernigan, a CDC flu expert.
So far, the flu that’s been detected is a milder strain than last year, and early signs are that the vaccine is shaping up to be a good match, Jernigan said.
The makeup of the vaccine has been changed this year to try to better protect against expected strains.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re seeing more encouraging signs than we were early last year,” Jernigan said.
Incentives for shot
People who get vaccinated during the drive-thru clinic will receive a goody bag, and the first 100 to get a flu shot will receive a coupon for a free sandwich at Chick-fil-A, Organist said.
The drive-thru clinic started as a way to try something different to encourage people to get a flu shot, and an immunization grant from the Indiana State Department of Health made that possible, Organist said.
Feedback about the drive-thru clinics has been positive, she said.
Residents who are unable to make it to the drive-thru clinic can get flu shots during walk-in hours at the health department’s nursing division, 2675 Fox Pointe Drive, Suite B, in Columbus.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About drive-thru clinic” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Drive-thru flu clinic, offered by the Bartholomew County Health Department
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday
Where: FairOaks Mall, 2380 25th St., Columbus (area in parking lot where farmers market vendors gather)
Cost: $20 for quadrivalent vaccine (protects against four strains), $40 for high dose (age 65 and older); most insurances can be billed; cash, credit cards, debit cards accepted; people without insurance or whose insurance does not pay for flu vaccine eligible to receive free quadrivalent vaccine
Notable: Children under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
Information: Bartholomew County Health Department 812-379-1555, option 1
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Walk-in clinic options” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Bartholomew County Health Department walk-in flu clinics
When: 8 to 5 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays during October, by appointment only
Where: Bartholomew County Health Department — Nursing Division, 2675 Fox Pointe Drive, Suite B, Columbus
Cost: $20 for quadrivalent vaccine (protects against four strains), $40 for high dose (age 65 and older); most insurances can be billed; cash, credit cards, debit cards accepted; people without insurance or whose insurance does not pay for flu vaccine eligible to receive free quadrivalent vaccine
Information: 812-379-1555, option 1
[sc:pullout-text-end]
