Health dept. hosts drive-through mock vaccination

Health department employees from myriad counties in Southwest Missouri lined up in their vehicles at the newly constructed Lawrence County Health Department to take part in a mock measles vaccine drive on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Though no real vaccines were distributed, the event still served a purpose, according to Scott Allen, administrator and health officer for the Webster County Health Department and public information officer for the event. The drive-through drill, which featured 19 different agencies, hoped to prepare officials for a mass vaccination in the wake of the recent outbreak of COVID-19.
According to Allen, COVID-19 put tremendous strain on health departments, who were, for the most part, unprepared for the various complications this presented. With this drive, they hoped to familiarize staff with mass vaccination protocol, should they ever need to do so again.
“Any other public safety agency prepares for anything that can be thrown their way,” said Allen. “Disease outbreak is one of the things that we try to prevent and prepare for.”
With more and more people moving toward an anti-vaccination stance, events like this are more important than ever, according to Tana Bradshaw, health educator at the Lawrence County Health Department.
“By getting vaccinated, you’re not only protecting yourself from disease, you’re protecting people in your community or people in your family who might not be able to get vaccinated,” said Bradshaw.