SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., – The annual Regional West Drive-Through Flu Shot Clinic will be held Saturday, October 2, from 8 a.m. to noon at the parking lot of Regional West Medical Plaza South.

The Drive-Through Flu Shot Clinic is designed to quickly and conveniently provide flu shots for high risk adults. This flu shot clinic will be limited to persons who have Medicare coverage. Drivers are encouraged to bring friends, neighbors and relatives who are also Medicare participants so that teams of nurses can vaccinate one person at each car window.

The clinic is being held earlier than usual this year due to new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC encourages all people, especially those at high risk for complications from the flu, to get vaccinated before seasonal flu begins to spread.

High risk adults include persons 65-years or older, those with chronic medical conditions, residents of nursing homes or long-term care facilities, and pregnant women. Last flu season, according to the CDC, American Indians and Alaskan Natives seemed to be at higher risk of flu complications.

The 2010-2011 flu vaccine will protect against three different flu viruses: an H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus, and the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season

To get a flu shot, drive to the Rehab Center entrance on the east side of Regional West Medical Center to register. Please bring your Medicare Part B card. Cars will then proceed to the South Plaza entrance where a team of health care providers will give shots through open car windows. Those receiving shots are encouraged to wear short sleeves and no jackets. Drivers are reminded to put their car in park before getting their shot.

A Walk-In Flu Shot Clinic for all adults will be held on Thursday, October 21 from 7 to 10 a.m. at the Community Health Office at St. Mary Plaza.

Children’s flu shots will not be available at the Drive-Through Clinic, but will be provided at the regular Community Health Immunization Clinic. For more information about children’s flu shots call 308-630-1126.

Regional West Health Services, with over 1,800 employees, provides comprehensive and innovative health care services for the people and communities of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. With over 110 active physicians, 95 percent of whom are board certified or board eligible, plus an additional 25 consulting specialists, Regional West offers care that spans more than 30 medical specialties. Regional West Medical Center, a subsidiary of Regional West Health Services, is accredited by The Joint Commission and is one of three Level II Trauma Centers in Nebraska.