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Thousands Vaccinated During Flu Blitz

Effort to give flu shots to thousands of health workers in a single day

Faculty, staff and senior leadership all rolled up their sleeves on Sept. 19 to take part in Duke Medicine's second flu vaccine blitz. The  effort to give flu shots to thousands of health workers in a single day expanded beyond Duke University Health System this year to include 10 hospitals, clinics and health departments across two N.C. counties.

The flu vaccine blitz serves as a drill to test the hospitals' and clinics' abilities to handle a mass vaccination effort in the face of a disease outbreak.

Duke launched the blitz last year, vaccinating more than 8,000 health system workers in one day throughout Duke University Hospital, Durham Regional and Duke Raleigh hospitals, plus affiliated community and primary care practices throughout the Triangle.

The effort was instrumental in the hospital system achieving a better than 80 percent vaccination rate among staff during last year's flu season. Duke also used the effort as an emergency exercise modeling a pandemic outbreak.