Sacramento County Public Health and the Sacramento Kings are announcing one of the largest drive-thru flu vaccination clinics in the county this season that will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the parking lot of the team’s former home in Natomas, Sleep Train Arena. Flu vaccinations at this event will be free to the public and the site has been provided at no cost to the County.
“Sacramento County is excited to partner with the Kings to provide this vital service to the community,” said Sacramento County Health Services Director Dr. Peter Beilenson. “This will be an easy location and quick way to get a free flu vaccination. We are working on bringing 1,000 doses to the event and are urging everyone to prioritize getting the flu vaccination this season.”
“We are proud to partner with Sacramento County Public Health to provide a socially distanced space for area residents to safely get their flu vaccinations for free,” said Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations John Rinehart. “The health of the community is one of our highest priorities during this unprecedented time.”
The Natomas drive-thru flu vaccination clinic is open to all who live in Sacramento County, who are over six months of age and are without a medical contraindication to receive the flu vaccine. The flu vaccinations at this event will be administered by public health nurses, strike team nurses and nurses from the Sacramento Medical Reserve Corps volunteers. The arena’s West Entrance, located off of East Commerce Way, will serve as the main entrance to the drive-thru clinic. Vaccinations will be dispensed near Toll Plaza 8 and afterward, individuals will exit onto Truxel Road.
Please view map of the event location.
“The more people in our community who are vaccinated for the flu, the fewer who will be hospitalized or sadly die from this preventable illness,” said Sacramento County Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye. “This year, it is more important than ever to get the flu vaccination to reduce your risk from flu but also to help conserve potentially scarce health care resources with COVID-19 continuing to spread in our community.”
Sacramento County Public Health guidance states that when someone is vaccinated for the flu, they protect those in the community who are immunocompromised and cannot have the vaccination. There are those who are at higher risk for severe complications of the flu and should get vaccinated, including children younger than age five, seniors 65 years old or older, women who are pregnant and those with underlying medical conditions.
“Sacramento County Public Health has worked hard this season on our flu clinics with our community partners,” said Sacramento County Public Health Nurse and Immunization Program Manager Rachel Allen. “We have already vaccinated more than 2,500 of our community members through our flu clinics and we have at least five more planned.”
“We thank the California National Guard who will be serving to provide on-site flu vaccination registration, screening participants and handling logistics and traffic operations,” said Sacramento County Health Program Coordinator Hannah Aalborg. “In addition to this flu clinic, the National Guard has been invaluable in helping with the COVID-19 response at community pop-up testing sites and the Cal Expo COVID-19 testing drive-thru where we’ve given more than 40,000 tests since March.”
