La. health officials offer drive-thru flu shot clinic

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Residents will be able to get flu shots on Saturday without having to leave their cars.

The Louisiana Department of Health is hosting a drive-thru flu vaccination clinic for people of all ages.

Doctors warn, December through February is peak time for the cough, cold and flu. Dr. Tony Martinez with Lake After Hours said when patients come in with influenza, their description of the body aches, cough and fever are often the same.

"People walk in and say, 'I feel like I got hit by a truck,'" Martinez said. "That's one of the first things they tell you."

The virus can take up to two weeks to treat. The Centers for Disease Control Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report, this week, put Louisiana in the medium-high category for risk of spreading.

Martinez said that means the cases are climbing.

"Recently, Louisiana was upgraded to what they call local spread status by the CDC, which means that we are starting to see a lot more flu cases showing up and it is spreading across various parts of the state," Martinez explained.

The good news is you can do something now to help prevent it. On Saturday, LDH is making getting a flu shot as quick and easy as grabbing a burger and fries in the drive thru line at your favorite fast food restaurant.

"We're testing the limits," said Parham Jaberi, assistant state health officer with the Louisiana Department of Health. "We want to see how conveniently we can bring this to our consumers, and more so, this is just one opportunity for us to ensure our citizens here in the Baton Rouge area are getting their flu shot."

The state will have four nurses and 500 doses of the vaccine available at the Bon Carre Business Center. All you have to do is show up and roll up your sleeve. You don't even have to get out of your car. It's free with proof of health insurance. It will cost you $10 if you do not have insurance.

"There are so many resources to get a flu shot now that anybody should be able to get it," Martinez added.

The flu shots will be available at the Bon Carre Business Center, located at 7241 Florida Boulevard, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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