DRIVE-THRU FLU SHOTS FARE WELL

On Saturday, a long line of cars piled up outside City Hall in West Sacramento, marking Yolo County’s first large-scale drive-thru for flu shots this season. So many people showed up to the free clinic that the line stretched about a quarter of a mile down the road KCRA 3 News.

In fact, the rush came so quickly that they used up all of the nearly 400 doses of flu vaccine and had to shut down the clinic an hour-and-a-half early.

“The public really is really wanting flu shots a lot more this year than we’ve seen in some of the recent years,” said Yolo County emergency manager Dana Carey.

Michael Smith just made the cut before the flu shot clinic closed down early.

“I feel really grateful,” she said. “If you get the flu shot, I think you really protect yourself even more from possibly being sick and then getting COVID.”

The large turnout matched people’s heightened concern over the novel coronavirus.

“It’s dangerous, super dangerous. A lot of people don’t take it serious, they should,” said Jim Foley.

Not only are people taking extra precautions this flu season amid the pandemic, but the county is preparing, too. Saturday’s drive-thru model is how Yolo County plans to dispense the future COVID-19 vaccine.

“That is what we’re going to be using when [the COVID vaccine] is widely available and in enough amounts that the public can get it,” Carey said.

Similar to the flu shot clinic, future COVID-19 vaccine clinics will operate as drive-thrus with several different stations along the patient’s route including a greeting station, medical screening station and dispensing station where they administer the vaccine.

Carey said since the coronavirus vaccine will be new, there may be some adjustments to the drive-thru.

“We may have things like observation times or different things that we have to do to use that vaccine,” she said.

When the COVID vaccine is widely available, some people who came to the flu shot clinic said they will be the first in line.

“I think vaccines work, and so if there’s a chance that it can save lives, might as well go do it,” said Waison Chen.