October 22, 1995
Web posted at: 10:05 p.m. EDT
From Correspondent Tony Clark
DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- These days, there's drive-through banking, drive-through fast food -- and now you can even fight the flu with drive-through.
This year, the Veterans Medical Center in Dallas is offering drive-through flu shots to encourage more veterans to get the inoculation.
"This is primarily for people who we've been missing because they didn't have appointments," said the Medical Center's Dr. John Lonergan," didn't want to take the time to find a parking spot, park, walk into the Medical Center and ask for a flu vaccine."
The drive-through inoculations take only a few minutes. There are a few preliminary medical questions,(85K AIFF sound or 85K WAV sound) and then ... the shot.
Because of the drive-through convenience, hospital officials expect to inoculate two to three thousand more veterans this year at this one location.
"It's a lot better than going through all that mess up there," said one drive-through patient. (43K AIFF sound or 43K WAV sound) "It makes it a lot more convenient. Instead of going in and having to wait and everything. It's a good deal."
Doctors recommend flu shots for people over 65-years-old, as well as people with long-standing lung disease, diabetics and people with kidney or liver disease. And a newly published study says that working adults could reduce their number of flu-related sick days by a third if they were inoculated.
Shots are readily available for those people too -- in some supermarkets and drug stores.(51K AIFF sound or 51K WAV sound)
"I was just in the store picking up my pictures from my daughter's wedding so I figured I'd stop in a get a flu shot," said customer Mike Starita.
"Customers like it because it's convenient," said Andy Wagman, pharmacy sales manager at Albertson's Food Centers. "They don't have to make an appointment. It's low cost in dollars and a lot of the times, they'll be in the stores shopping anyway."
Health officials hope that by making flu shots convenient, they can make this flu season go by a little easier.
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