Anyone passing by the high school earlier this week would have seen police, pharmacists, tents and traffic cones welcoming people to the first drive-thru flu clinic in Southeastern Massachusetts, according to Public Health Director Chris Michaud.

The event comes just one week after the state government announced a new requirement for all children educated in Massachusetts schools to be vaccinated.

Michaud said the clinic — which gave flu shots to nearly 200 area residents on Aug. 25 and 26 —  took three weeks of planning.

“Ordinarily, flu clinics have always been held indoors,” he said, noting that with the coronavirus pandemic, “this year poses a unique challenge.”

“We are having these two respiratory issues coinciding this fall,” he noted. “You have critical services, and flu-like or Covid-like symptoms can have a very long and lasting effect...We try to look at this not only as protecting health, but protecting essential services and all services.”

The clinic was operated in conjunction with Walgreens Pharmacy and took place over two days — the first for a “soft opening” for town employees, and the second for the general public. 

A variety of first responders and others volunteered to help out at the clinic, including the town’s police, fire, and emergency management agents, EMS services like STAT Dartmouth, and even animal control in case of pet trouble.

According to Michaud, many health departments — especially those in rural areas — may not have much experience in emergency preparedness, aside from the H1N1 or “swine flu” outbreak, which occurred more than a decade ago.

Collaborating with private providers can give health departments real practice. “This is actually a hands-on exercise,” Michaud said. 

And as with any real-world experience, unforeseen issues crop up. On the first day setting up the clinic, he said, a white-faced hornets nest was discovered near one of the checkpoints.

Michaud noted that the hornets moved in while the school was shut down. But the nest was taken care of quickly.

“The last thing we want is to have an incident with very aggressive hornets,” he said.

Michaud said he hopes to run a few more clinics in September and October.

As for the clinic itself, several Walgreens employees in the vaccine tent said it was “a very nice setup.”

The company’s district manager has even started a competition among the different South Coast branches: staff from the store with the highest percentage of employees vaccinated this season will be taken out for a free lunch of their choice.

So Walgreens registered store manager Melinda Paquette ended up giving pharmacy manager Rachel Tetreault a flu shot too.

“How’d I do, Rach?” she asked.

“It was awesome,” said Tetreault with a laugh. “The best flu shot I’ve ever had.”

This article has been updated to include the contribution of volunteers from the town’s emergency management agency.