Drive-through vaccination clinic a success for Howard County

Columbia, Md (Map, News) - Flu shots were on the menu at a massive drive-through this weekend in Columbia.

“I didn’t know about this last year and it’s a good chance to be prepared for the flu,” said Beverly Zimmer of Elkridge. “It’s a big incentive that it’s free.”

Zimmer was second in line — right after Howard County Executive Ken Ulman — for Sunday’s four-hour flu vaccination clinic.

Howard County Health Department organizers believed this to be the largest drive-through flu clinic in the country and gave nearly 2,668 shots, out of about 4,000 available. Last year, 2,081 shots were administered.

“I’ve always gotten the shots,” Zimmer said. “I got the Hong Kong flu in the 1970s, and I never want to be that sick again.”

That influenza pandemic began in Hong Kong and spread to the United States, causing nearly 34,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

And to protect against another such pandemic or even a terrorist attack, emergency responders from various agencies were on scene to test how they cooperate.

“It went much more smoothly this year, and we had far fewer complaints about how long the wait times were,” said Lisa de Hernandez, the health department spokeswoman.

She attributes the success to having traffic flow in one direction and having both family and adult stations, unlike last year.

Police, fire officials and others worked to implement an incident action plan based on guidelines from the National Incident Management System. The plan included objectives of providing safety and security for all responders and residents and providing accurate and timely information, said Fire Chief Joe Herr.

“It lets us test the logistics of getting a large number of people through,” said Police Chief Bill McMahon. “We know the fire and police departments work well together and now we’re adding the health department. It all worked very well.”

The event was the first to use the county’s 1700 AM radio channel. Residents could listen to waiting times, weather updates and messages from Ulman and county Health Officer Dr. Peter Beilenson.

Flu shots in the area typically cost around $25, said Sandra Nicholas, a vaccine shooter with the health department.

“In general, if everybody gets the vaccine, you’re not going to be passing the flu,” she said. “It’s a very contagious condition, especially when working in small environments.”

jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com