County holds drive-thru flu clinic

NEW ULM — Forty-five Brown County residents took part in Public Health’s drive-thru flu vaccine clinic Saturday.

Anyone who made an appointment was able to drive up to Public Health’s Community Service building at 1117 Center Street and receive a free flu vaccination.

Public Health Director Karen Moritz said Brown County residents traditionally do not get the flu vaccine despite being available every year. The highest flu vaccination rate the county has ever seen is 36%. Moritz hoped more people would get the flu vaccine this year to alleviate pressure already caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The last thing the county needs is a flu outbreak.

“Having two outbreaks would be difficult to manage,” Moritz said. “The symptoms of the two viruses are already so similar and health care facilities are already hitting the maximum care limits.”

To encourage everyone to get the flu shot, Public Health offered the drive-thru vaccination clinic for free and did not charge the cost to insure. Public Health scheduled two flu vaccinations every 15 minutes.

Moritz believed they could handle more vaccinations at a time, but wanted to keep the process simple this time. Public Health anticipates other drive-thru vaccinations in the future.

Moritz said this flu clinic served as practice if the COVID vaccine becomes available for mass distribution.

The COVID vaccine is currently prioritized for frontline health care workers. The Minnesota Department of Health is still determining which groups should receive the COVID vaccine next, but Public Health is planning an option for distribution when the vaccine becomes available for the general public.

The drive-thru vaccination process is ideal because, in addition to being able to vaccinate several people in a short amount of time, the delivery method is already socially distant. Those receiving the vaccine remain in their vehicles rather than enter a building.

Moritz said when the COVID vaccine becomes available, people will still need to social distance when receiving the vaccination.

The COVID vaccination process will also be different from the flu vaccine because the vaccine for COVID requires two shots, three weeks apart. The flu shot is a single inoculation once a year.

Flu season has already begun in Minnesota. The flu typically begins spreading as the weather grows colder. This is the recommended time to get the seasonal flu shot.

Moritz said there is still a chance to get a flu shot and it can be arranged through Public Health.