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TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — Roll up your sleeve, hold your arm out the car window — and get a flu shot.
The routine proved popular this week at the Arkansas Department of Health's Drive-thru Flu Vaccination Clinic in Texarkana, with an estimated 850 people getting vaccinated. People were given the option of a traditional shot or a nasal spray vaccination.
"There are a lot of elderly people who come to this, and it's difficult for them to get in and out of their cars and walk in someplace," Cynthia White, the Health Department's Southwest region, told the Texarkana Gazette (http://bit.ly/1zzIQZS ). "With this, they get in their car one time and drive through, and they don't have to get back out until they're back home."
The event was held Tuesday at Four States Fairgrounds.
White said flu activity has already been reported in the region. She noted that nearly 80 deaths were attributed to the flu last year in Arkansas, and many more people were hospitalized because of the illness.
"Influenza is one of the vaccine-preventable diseases and . we want to prevent or lessen the severity of illness by vaccinating people," White said. "It can take up to two weeks to get full immunity from the vaccine, so the quicker people get vaccinated, the better."
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Information from: Texarkana Gazette, http://www.texarkanagazette.com
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