Fulton Family Health to offer drive-thru flu shot clinic

MU Health Care is hosting a drive-thru flu shot event 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday at Fulton Family Health, 2613 Fairway Drive, Suite C.

"We did a drive-thru clinic last year late in October, and it was really successful," Dr. Laura Morris said. "We had about 260 vaccinations given in a two hour clinic last year, and we have a lot more experience operationally at MU Health Care now after doing drive-thru testing the last year and a half. So it's something that we know works pretty well, and we wanted to bring that out to Callaway County."

The drive-thru event is for anyone six months and older. Those interested should bring a mask and wear it when interacting with staff members. They are asking for those who wish to participate to wear loose, short-sleeve shirts, and those with young children should consider putting them in shorts since flu shots are administered in the thigh.

"We're still offering flu vaccines to patients that have appointments with us," said Dr. Morris. "So if you come in for diabetes or a well child check then we'll definitely vaccinate you while you're there but in terms having a lot of people come into the clinic just to get a flu shot that's not really a great way for our clinic to flow. So we think the drive-thru works really well and for patients they don't even have to do anything they just drive up, we hand everything to them, they fill out some paperwork, the nurses come out to the car and then they're off and going."

The clinic will collect insurance information and bill insurance for the flu shot.

"Last year, we gave a lot of flu shots," said Dr. Morris. "But we talked a lot about how the social distancing, the masking and the restrictions on activities and things that we were doing last year in response to COVID, and how that really kept flu numbers down. We are already in primary care, are seeing a serge in routine viral infections. We've had a little outbreak of RSV this fall, and when the students went back to school we started seeing a lot of people with coughs, sore throats and sniffles, that have not necessarily been COVID. But we're definitely transmitting infections to each other in a different way this year, a more typical way than what we have seen in the last year. I think we could underestimate what the flu season will look like if we just think, 'oh, last year wasn't that bad I don't need my flu shot,' but we're behaving differently this year, and we want to make sure we keep emphasizing flu shots as well as COVID shots. But flu shots are the only thing we're offering this weekend."

For more information, visit muhealth.org/flu.