Free flu vaccines were given to 5,057 residents throughout Louisiana during the first hour of the state’s mass vaccination effort. The free vaccines continue until 7:30 p.m. this evening at nine locations.
Any citizen older than six months of age can still receive this free vaccine today.
“We are very pleased with the turnout today,” said Dr. Roxane Townsend, LDH secretary. “By participating, citizens will be better prepared for the upcoming flu season, and our agency will be better prepared to respond if an emergency ever requires us to open up sites to dispense medications.”
Townsend said the drill is designed to test the health department’s ability to alert people to an emergency situation, identify and prepare a Point of Dispensing site (POD site) where medicines can be given to the general public, recruit medical volunteers and record and track the number of people served. The exercise is a requirement of a federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Although we have been planning for this day for several months, we should now have the resources and the experience to quickly open up sites such as these and properly staff them,” added Townsend.
First hour results from the nine locations are listed below:
Alexandria
428 shots
Alexandria Senior High School
800 Ola Lane
Baton Rouge
591 shots
Bon Carre Business Center
7173 Florida Boulevard
Hammond
549 shots
Woodland Park Baptist Church
1909 J.W. Davis Dr.
Lafayette
258 shots
St. Edmond Family Center
4131 W. Congress Street
Lake Charles
413 shots
Glad Tidings Church
3400 Texas Street
Monroe
508 shots
First Baptist Church
500 Pine Street
New Orleans
694 shots
University of New Orleans
Recreation and Fitness Center
Shreveport
843 shots
Summer Grove Baptist Church
8924 Jewella Avenue
Thibodaux
773 shots
Thibodaux Civic Center
310 North Canal Boulevard
753 Department of Health - Office of Public Health employees and 185 volunteers are working at the nine regional Point of Dispensing sites around the state to provide the general public with the seasonal flu vaccine.
Alexandria
61 LDH-OPH
34 Volunteers
Baton Rouge
91 LDH-OPH
9 Volunteers
Hammond
98 LDH-OPH
13 Volunteers
Lafayette
68 LDH-OPH
22 Volunteers
Lake Charles
58 LDH-OPH
25 Volunteers
Monroe
44 LDH-OPH
23 Volunteers
New Orleans
151 LDH-OPH
23 Volunteers
Shreveport
57 LDH-OPH
6 Volunteers
Thibodaux
79 LDH-OPH
30 Volunteers