BAINBRIDGE — Three southern Ohio health agencies parked their mobile outreach units side by side in the Bainbridge Produce Auction parking lot on Saturday, Oct. 17, offering free vaccines — including a shot against measles — to anyone who stopped by.
The Pike County General Health District teamed up with the Ross County Health District and the Highland County Health Department for the joint clinic at 4053 State Route 41. Along with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, staff offered Tdap, flu and COVID-19 shots, and a sign posted at the clinic read “Measles Vaccine Available,” according to the Pike County district.
The clinic was open to anyone regardless of insurance status, the health district said, with staff on hand to help residents without coverage get vaccinated at no cost. Bringing the shots to a familiar community gathering spot — the produce auction lot in the Ross County village of Bainbridge, near the Pike and Highland county lines — put the clinic within easy reach of rural residents in all three counties.
The outreach comes more than a week after the Pike County General Health District confirmed a laboratory-confirmed case of measles in the county, the first reported there this year, and began working to trace who may have been exposed. The district has not released the infected person’s age, vaccination status or where the exposure may have occurred.
Health officials describe measles as a highly contagious virus that can spread before an infected person shows symptoms and can linger in the air for up to two hours after that person leaves a room. Unvaccinated people face the highest risk of infection, and about one in five unvaccinated Americans who contract measles is hospitalized. Symptoms typically begin with a high fever, cough and watery eyes, followed three to five days later by a rash, with onset generally seven to 14 days after exposure.
The MMR vaccine is routinely recommended starting at 12 to 15 months of age, with a second dose typically given before kindergarten, and health officials say the shot remains the best protection against the virus. Saturday’s clinic made that protection available on a walk-up basis, alongside the seasonal flu and COVID-19 shots many residents were already due for.
The Bainbridge clinic follows similar outreach in neighboring Highland County, where the health department added the MMR vaccine to a drive-thru flu and COVID-19 clinic earlier this month. Highland County has another drive-thru clinic offering the shot scheduled for Oct. 28 at the Paint Creek Joint EMS & Fire District station in Hillsboro. Residents with questions about vaccination can call the Pike County General Health District at 740-947-7721, the Ross County Health District at 740-779-9652 or the Highland County Health Department at 937-393-1941.