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First-ever local drive-thru anti-rabies clinics to be held

By Billie Owens

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments will be hosting FREE drive-thru anti-rabies immunization clinics this month.

The Genesee County clinic will be on Thursday, Aug. 13th from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Genesee County Fairgrounds (5056 E. Main Street Road, Batavia).

Paul Pettit, Public Health director, notes that this is the first time the departments will be offering a drive-thru clinic.

“The drive-thru style will allow for the health departments to provide a vaccination clinic to our communities while adhering to the health and safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic," Pettit said. "This will ensure social distance protocols can bemaintained in an organized manner.”

Upon arrival, staff will instruct you to stay in your vehicle and form a single lane to the clinic area. Public health workers will be screening the occupants in each vehicle for COVID-19 symptoms.

County workers will be directing traffic flow. At the veterinarian immunization station, pet owners will be instructed to exit their vehicle and bring their pet(s) out for the veterinarian to vaccinate.

Once directed to do so, animals must be secured on a leash or in separate carriers at the immunization station.

Face masks, cloth face coverings, or face shields are required when speaking to staff and when outside of their vehicle at the vaccination table. Please limit four animals per vehicle.

“Animal rabies continues to be a serious public health problem in Genesee and Orleans counties," Pettit said. "We encourage all residents to take advantage of this opportunity to make sure that their animals are immunized against rabies and that the vaccinations are kept up to date."

To assist with crowd control, the vaccination clinics are only for respective county residents. The Genesee clinic will only be for Genesee County residents.

You do not need an appointment but please arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to the end of the clinic. For Genesee, please arrive no later than 6:30 p.m.

Click here to fill in the rabies certificate for your pets. Be sure to print out two copies for each pet to be vaccinated and bring them with you.

The next anti-rabies immunization clinic in Genesee County will be held on Sept. 17th. (The date is subject to change.)

For more information, please contact: Genesee County Health Department: (585) 344-2580, ext. 5555 / Health.Dept@co.genesee.ny.us

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