Image Credit: Sun Peaks Resort
FLU VACCINATIONS

Sun Peaks Community Health Centre to host drive-thru flu shot clinic

Oct 18, 2020 | 2:54 PM

SUN PEAKS, B.C. — Staff at the Sun Peaks Community Health Centre will be hosting a drive-thru flu shot clinic at the end of the month.

The Centre’s Executive Director, Laura Bantock says registered patients can utilize the pop-up clinic on Oct. 31 or Nov. 1 to get a speedy, safe flu vaccine.

“It’s going to be focusing on adults, it’s going to be outdoors, and it is going to be a drive-thru clinic,” she explains, “So people won’t be getting out of their cars. Providers will be giving the injections through the car window. And then they’ll have to wait in a certain area of the parking lot outside the clinic in their vehicle for the standard 15 minutes afterwards.”

While the health centre is located within the mountain municipality of Sun Peaks, Bantock says a large portion of patients commute from Kamloops for their doctor’s appointments. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, this year she expects there will be an increase in the number of people seeking a flu vaccination.

For this clinic, Bantock says they will not be vaccinating children, and it will be for adults only. Those who wish to take part in the drive-thru are asked to register ahead of time online for an appointment. A consent form will be sent with the appointment time, and will need to be printed out and brought to the clinic, along with a BC healthcare card.

Appointment priority will be given to registered patients of the centre, and Bantock says anyone feeling under the weather recently will be asked not to attend.

“We’re attempting to give 1,000 vaccines over two days,” Bantock says, “We need people to register for the clinic as soon as possible so that I can get an idea of the uptake, and also it makes planning for an event like this a lot easier if we know what we’re expecting.”

Bantock says the drive-thru format is also a dry run to see if it will be a feasible option for when a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available.