HEALTHY DRIVE-THRU

Department tries drive-thru method for WIC nutrition program

Lorain County Public Health tried out a new drive-thru distribution method for the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) nutrition program Aug. 11, and possibly could implement a similar method for distributions of vaccines moving forward during this novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Today, we have a distribution through our WIC program, and we have a new distribution model where we have people driving up (at 9880 Murray Ridge Road in Elyria) to receive food,” said Erin Murphy, program manager for Lorain County Public Health. “This is the first time we are doing an event like this.”

Murphy said the health department always is learning from experiences.

“So, anytime we plan a new event or pilot a new method, we are always looking for an opportunity to see how we can use an experience in other ways through a model,” she said.

“It may give us perspective for how a drive-thru method or model could be used for something like a vaccination in the future,” Murphy said.

“Our Emergency Preparedness Division does practice runs every year on different scenarios. Some of them are very specific for emergency preparedness. They get planned well in advance, and it takes a lot of effort to plan those.

“So, when you have something that pops up where you can serve a need and it can be used to see how things can be done in the future, we take advantage of those.”

Murphy said Lorain County Public Health currently is preparing for flu season.

“We do feel our flu vaccination method may need to be updated to fit COVID-19 restrictions, including limiting the number of people in a space and keeping people social distanced,” she said. “Whether or not a drive-up method would end up being utilized for vaccinations, has not been determined.

“But, we are exploring that option. Conversations with sites for flu vaccinations will begin in the next couple of weeks, because we don’t usually have flu vaccinations until November.”

Murphy said there also have been talks about COVID-19 vaccinations.

“We have staff and a vaccination team that are very well prepared, with a lot of vaccination experience, that are helping guide those talks,” she said. “We also don’t know when a vaccination becomes available, if it will be distributed in some mass population way, or if it will go first to more targeted or high-risk populations, and that will influence the distribution method.”

“It may give us perspective for how a drive-thru method or model could be used for something like a vaccination in the future.” — Erin Murphy, program manager for Lorain County Public Health

ZACHARY SRNIS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Roza Galay, a diet tech with Lorain County Public Health, participates in a WIC drive-thru with Laurie Grobe, owner of Grobe Fruit Farm.

ZACHARY SRNIS - THE MORNING JOURNAL Grobe Fruit Farm owners Brooke, left, and Laurie Grobe, right, work the WIC drive-through with Roza Galay, middle, a diet tech with Lorain County Public Health.