What they are doing in Blanco County

A regular flu shot clinic would be a success if it vaccinated 100 people a day; in a health emergency, the number might be 100 times that. About two dozen Blanco County volunteers learned how to support the clinics in either extreme Saturday, moving people through the process smoothly and efficiently while still getting the job done. Christine and Bruce Huguelet took the class at New Hope Lutheran Church in Blanco. In a health emergency requiring mass immunizations, they would supervise teams of other non-medical volunteers supporting the professionals who do the actual needlework.

"A shot clinic protects but doesn't treat," explained Department of State Health Services trainer Jacque Hagerty (standing), "so part of the volunteer's job is to screen out those already ill and steer them toward a separate treatment center." That was one of the principles taught Saturday in the class at the Johnson City First United Methodist Church. Volunteers (left to right) Tom Mills, Sandy Lee, Jane Weimers and Bill Weimers learned how to manage emergency immunization clinics to move thousands of people through the shot lines quickly, to stop disease before it spreads out of control. About two dozen Blanco County residents went through one of the three classes offered here.