Wednesday’s drive-thru flu shot clinic at the Cody Stampede Rodeo grounds saw a healthy number of healthy-minded people attend to get their seasonal flu vaccine throughout the day.
Flu vaccines were offered at $25 per person for adults and $20 for children, with Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance all accepted.
340 people made their way through the clinic by 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, and Park County Public Health Nurse Bill Crampton expected at least 400 before the clinic shut down at 6 p.m.
Cody didn’t beat Powell in terms of attendance. 501 vaccinations were distributed during their drive-thru clinic on Oct. 7, enough that the operation shut down early when they ran out of shots.
The drive-thru clinic was not only important for Cody residents to get vaccinated. The setup of cones, trailers, and drivers was preparing the health officials and the Park County Community Emergency Response Team volunteers on-site for potential scenarios where this type of access is necessary.
“Emergency preparedness is part of our thing,” said Crampton. “If we ever get a COVID vaccine, we got to be prepared to run things like for folks that want to get the vaccine. It’s a lot easier to do it like this – we just need to practice it.”
These clinics in Coy and Powell will be the only community flu vaccine clinics offered in 2020. Health officials will still offer shots in bulk to companies and organizations that request them but there will be no other large community events.
Crampton says flu shots are of particular importance for the 2020-2021 flu season because of COVID-19. The virus is already difficult to treat and would become much worse if someone were to simultaneously contract COVID and the flu.
Flu shots are available at Walgreens, Albertsons, and Park County Public Health on specific days. Walk-in vaccinations are available in Cody on Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 – 4:30 p.m. and in Powell on Mondays from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
