If you still need a flu shot, you’re in luck. This Saturday, the State of Alaska Section of Public Health Nursing in collaboration with numerous local organizations is offering free flu shots.
The shots will be offered during a community emergency drill. The exercise will help providers train for events where medications or vaccines need to be dispensed to every member of a community in a short period of time.
Lorne Carroll is a public health nurse for the Homer Public Health Center. He says in an emergency, the plan is to provide medicine to residents within a few days.
“As you could imagine, providing medicine or vaccines to every member of the community within three days is a very large task and so it takes a lot of advanced planning to do that and it also takes a lot of different types of community partners in order to make that happen.”
Public health officials are working with the City of Homer, South Peninsula Hospital, SVT Health and Wellness, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough among others to put on the drill. The State of Alaska Department of Epidemiology is providing the free flu vaccines.
Carroll said the plan has been in the works for about five years, but this Saturday will be the first time the community is putting it in practice.
“Well, with any emergency operations plan, any planning to actually exercise it is a critical part…,” he said. “Just to be able to meet and get to know community partners a little bit better and that makes any operation run a lot smoother.”
This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic where roughly 50 million people died. Event officials say its important reminder of why we need to be prepared.
The drill will take place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Homer High School. Carroll says the shot is appropriate for anyone 6 months of age or older, including pregnant women. There will also be high-dose shot available for seniors.
