Flu shots at drivers’ convenience

SOUTH GLENDALE — Burbank residents Don and Debbie Schrey pulled their car into the parking garage at Glendale Memorial Hospital shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday.

Within minutes, two nurses came to each window of the car and administered flu shots as the Schreys stayed in their car. After years of forgoing the precautionary measure, Don Schrey said this year he decided to get the vaccination.

“I’m getting older,” he said. “I thought I’d better start getting them.”

Schrey was one of hundreds of people who attended the hospital’s free drive-through flu shot clinic aimed at senior citizens and residents with health problems.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Glendale Community College nursing student Soraya German, who volunteered at the event. “People feel comfortable staying in their cars.”

While this year has not seen the hysteria or media attention associated with last year’s flu season — when people waited in line for hours to receive an H1N1 flu vaccination — Dr. Manuel Momjian said both H1N1 and other strains of the flu are still of concern.

“It’s not over yet,” he said. “There’s still a potential for some of these influenza strains to cause localized pandemics.”

Nearly 200,000 people per year end up in the hospital due to the flu, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With more robust supplies of the vaccination available this year, officials this year recommend that most people above the age of 6 months receive the vaccination, Momjian said.

And with the flu season just getting underway, officials say now is the best time to get this year’s vaccination, which protects against H1N1 and two other flu strains.

“The earlier you get your seasonal flu vaccine, the sooner you will be protected from the flu,” Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Jonathan Fielding said in a statement. “We cannot predict how severe or how mild a flu season will be. Flu is a serious illness and should be treated as such.”

Hospital officials said the annual drive-through clinic makes it especially easy for local seniors to get the important vaccination.

“I see a lot of returning faces,” said registered nurse Cheryl Rueckel, who has taken part in the event for the past nine years. “They are comfortable and confident that we are doing a good job.”