HOHENFELS, Germany - During the month of October, the Hohenfels Army Health Clinic hosted two events aimed at providing the flu vaccine to community members and successfully vaccinating a large portion of their population.
During Boo to the Flu 2, the second annual community influenza preparedness event, the clinic was transformed into a spooky, fun house of health and more than 450 flu shots were given -- four times as many as the previous year.
The Boo to the Flu Drive Thru event provided the community an opportunity to get their flu shot while coming on to the installation. The drive-thru event was the first of its kind within the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity Bavaria footprint, and proved successful as nearly 550 people received their flu vaccine.
Total, the Hohenfels clinic hosted 11 hours of events and inoculated close to 1,000 Hohenfels community members -- almost one-third of the beneficiary population.
Lt. Col. Samuel Preston, Hohenfels Army Health Clinic Commander, said the events were a "whole-installation effort with support from the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment medics, the 527th Military Police Company and American Red Cross volunteers."
While the Boo to the Flu event at the clinic was a fun way to encourage the flu shot, the drive-thru event offered a convenient way to get the vaccine -- without going into a busy clinic.
Additionally, from an operational perspective, the drive thru event illustrated that "in a real world pandemic, this modality is a fast, efficient, and safe mechanism to deliver a large number of inoculations in a short period of time," Preston said.
For more information about Hohenfels Army Health Clinic, visit http://rhce.amedd.army.mil/hohenfels/.
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