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“Is that for here or to go?” Drive-Through Pediatric Vaccine Clinic as a Novel Approach during a Global Pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2021

Sowmya Patil ,
Karalyn Kerby ,
Amy Ramick  and
Justin H. Criddle
Sowmya Patil*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR, USA
Karalyn Kerby
Affiliation:
Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR, USA
Amy Ramick
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
Justin H. Criddle
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
*
Corresponding author: Sowmya Patil, Email: patilsowmyan@uams.edu.
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Abstract

Objective:

Routine childhood vaccination and well-child visits are essential for pediatric patients’ preventative and public healthcare services. The COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate and significant decline in well-child visits and vaccine administration. A one-of-a-kind ‘Drive-Through Vaccine Clinic’ was established to improve the vaccination rate and alleviate parental anxiety about being exposed to COVID-19 infection.

Methods:

Our initial focus was on children between 18 months – 4 years of age at the start of the pandemic, and then extended this to the back-to-school vaccines and the Influenza vaccines.

Results:

The Drive-Through Immunization Station provided 745 vaccines to 415 patients between April and September, 2020. The median wait time involved from patient arrival to completion of vaccine administration was 5 minutes at the Drive-Through location. Patient and parent feedback was positive. The addition of the Drive-Through Clinic helped to significantly increase the total number of vaccines administered compared to the previous year.

Conclusion:

In a global pandemic, innovative ideas to increase access to preventive healthcare should be a priority. In the future, this method of non-traditional vaccine administration, will allow for improved outreach efforts to underserved populations in our communities, and better disaster preparedness.

Keywords

COVID-19mass vaccine clinicpediatric vaccinationdrive-through clinicpandemic
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e71
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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