In the event of a natural disaster, San Benito County will be prepared to respond more quickly thanks to a free flu vaccination clinic. Held at the Veterans Memorial Building, the clinic is timing how long it takes someone from the time they step in the door until they are inoculated for emergency preparedness purposes.
"(We have) a lot of emergency preparedness plans in place, but unless we test them, we don't know how they'll work," said County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Samela Perez.
A press release from the county says this: "The clinic will improve the county's operational readiness, test interagency coordination, evaluate public health disaster plans and identify resource gaps, while providing a very important public health service to the community."
There were a wide variety of volunteers who helped out with the event. Many of them were from different county agencies but also extended to the Gavilan College students in the nursing program who were learning on site.
The community has responded well with more than 475 people showing up in the first hour, said Perez. The clinic is in its third year and has grown popular with residents. The first year they inoculated 340 people and 740 last year. Estimates put the need for this year's clinic to be around 2,000 vaccinations for anyone age six months and older.
Colin McConville Colin McConville is a reporter with the Hollister Free Lance. You can reach him by email or at (831) 637-5566.
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