Saturday in Las Cruces thousands of people will line up in a drive-thru, not for a burrito, or a burger, or even the ATM. Instead, they’ll line up for a flu shot.
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) is proud to be working with area health professionals once again for our annual flu vaccination event, Boo to the Flu to provide local residents the chance to get vaccinated from the flu. There is no cost for the flu shot, but everyone should bring their insurance card, including Medicaid or Medicare, with them.
MountainView Regional Medical joins Memorial Medical Center for this year’s Boo to the Flu event. Both hospitals will host drive-thru vaccination events simultaneously this Saturday, October 29th from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. or while supplies last.
Everyone is encouraged to arrive early. To expedite the process, visit www.MountainViewRegional.com or www.mmclc.org to download consent forms to bring with you on the day of the clinic.
Drive-thru and walk-in service will be provided for adults. Families with children under 18-years-old will be required to park and enter either the Memorial Medical Center West Annex Building (Enter the north side of MMC’s parking lot from Terrace Drive between Telshor and Don Roser), or the MountainView Regional Medical Center Children’s Wellness Clinic located in suite 100 inside the Medical Office Building.
Flu season traditionally begins with the start of October, and depending on how many people diagnosed with influenza, flu season can last well into next spring. Already in New Mexico, NMDOH has reported the first laboratory confirmed flu cases in the state. The cases involved a 64-year-old man from Bernalillo County and a 64-year-old woman from Valencia County. It’s only a matter of time before similar cases are diagnosed in Doña Ana County.
NMDOH recommends everyone six months of age and older get a flu vaccine each flu season. Flu vaccination has important benefits, not least of which is it can reduce flu illnesses, doctors' visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations. Flu vaccination also may make your illness milder if you do get sick.
Getting vaccinated yourself also protects people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions. Annual vaccinations from the flu are also an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, lung or heart disease.
Last flu season in New Mexico, there were 30 influenza-related deaths identified in adults (60 percent among people 65 years and older) and one child, and 219 pneumonia-related deaths reported.
Boo to the Flu is created in partnership with the NMDOH Office of Border Health, Mountain View Regional Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center, the Doña Ana County Immunization Coalition, the United Way of Southwest New Mexico, the City of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County Government, Las Cruces Public Schools, New Mexico State University, and the United States/Mexico Border Health Commission.
For more information on the no-charge flu vaccination event, call (575) 528-5197.