Local public health officials want to get the word out: Get vaccinated as early as possible, despite the lack of a flu outbreak this season.
San Benito County’s Public Health Department held its annual free flu clinic last week at the Veterans Memorial Building – and used the event as an opportunity to spread the word about the value of immunizations, said Peggy Schwartz, a public health nurse and the county’s immunization coordinator.
She pointed to vaccinations for such ailments as whooping cough, measles and HPV, which children can carry. Schwartz pointed out how the public health department plans to do more promotion in local schools in the coming year as well.
As for flu, it brought out enough people to use up 1,067 doses, according to department officials. The crowds came and went with peaks and valleys through the five-hour event, said Samela Perez ,the agency’s public information chief.
More than 1,000 people came despite relatively little publicity surrounding this year’s flu strain.
“There really hasn’t been an outbreak,” Schwartz said.
Those people filled out a form, answered a few questions and were instructed to go to tables and receive a shot or mist dose.
Perez pointed out that the event is put together largely by volunteers, while the group uses it as an opportunity to conduct emergency preparedness as well.
“Could we do it?” was the theme, she said, while Perez believes the flu clinic showed they could.
