12 regional locations to have drive-thru flu shots available

Kettering Health Network program takes place from Oct. 22-27.

Local residents can get free drive-thru flu shots later this month through a new Kettering Health Network program.

The local health network will have drive-thru flu shots between Oct. 22 and Oct. 27 at 12 locations around the region, saying in a statement that people can “just drive up and roll up your sleeve.”

Flu season begins each year as early as October and last flu season led to 8,661 hospitalizations in Ohio. Last year during flu season, hospitalizations started to increase around December, peaking the last week of February with 115 hospitalizations in the region.

For the drive-thru flu shots, adults with identification are eligible, but children require a different dosage of the flu vaccine, which will not be at the drivethru locations.

The flu shots will be administered by nurses who will be supported in the field by physicians, critical care teams, first responders and network volunteers.

Kettering Health says for quick service, wear short or easy-to-

roll-up sleeves.

Nearly 5,000 area residents will be offered free flu shots on a first-come, firstserved basis, while quantities last. The health network stated the program also serves as an emergency preparedness exercise in the event it must activate a mass immunization program.

Flu vaccines are available now around the Miami Valley and are recommended received before the end of October in order to beat the arrival of flu season. Some of the populations that are most at risk from the flu are young children, adults older than 50 years old, anyone with a compromised immune system, pregnant women, people with obesity, people in nursing homes and caregivers of people at high risk.

Pharmacies, clinics, and some workplaces will have vaccines available. Providers with Premier Physician Network can all also administer flu vaccines, and Wright State Physicians Family Medicine has a walk-in flu clinic 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Dec. 1 at 725 University Blvd.

Some flu symptoms include fevers, chills, coughing, muscle aches, congestion, headaches and fatigue.

If a person starts to get flu symptoms, they should contact their doctor right away so they can get treated within the 48 hour window. The FDA recently approved the first generic version of Tamiflu, making flu treatment cheaper and more accessible. Like the branded version, the generic is for treating patients within 48 hours of when flu-like symptoms appear, like fevers, chills, coughing, muscle aches, congestion, headaches and fatigue.