FLINT TWP., MI -- A drive-through vaccine event will take place at Genesee Health Plan this month.

The 10th annual vaccine event is scheduled from 3-6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at Genesee Health Plan, located at 2171 S. Linden Road in Flint Township.

Genesee Health Plan is holding the event in partnership with the Genesee County Health Department, Genesee County Health Center, Walgreens, Communication Access Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and R.L. Jones Community Outreach Center.

To make it easy for residents to get their vaccines in a timely manner, vaccines will be administered in the two loading bays on site.

Flu, Tdap, Hepatitis B and HPV vaccines will be available for those in attendance.

"Participants drive in. They roll down their window. They roll up their sleeve, and they can safely and conveniently receive their flu vaccine," Shannon Ciszek, the communication coordinator for Genesee Health Plan, said.

Genesee Health Plan began organizing the event with the Genesee County Health Department and Walgreens in 2014 to encourage residents to be "proactive" with their health, Ciszek said, and protect those who are most vulnerable to diseases like the flu.

"It can make you sick," she said. "Everybody knows that, but it can also cause life threatening illness or be an emergency for individuals that have certain preexisting health conditions."

Genesee Health Plan is still unsure if it will be administering COVID-19 vaccines during the upcoming event.

"We're hoping to have the COVID vaccine, and those vaccines would be provided by the health department inside of the office," Ciszek said.

The drive-through vaccine event is meant to cater to residents who are often unable to take the time off from work or other obligations needed to schedule and attend a doctor appointment.

Ciszek noted that this is also why organizers chose to keep the event open after 5 p.m.

She said the turnout at these annual vaccine events is usually between 150 and 200 people.

In the past couple of years, Genesee Health Plan has partnered with the Communication Access Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing because, as Ciszek explains, "they've been left out of a lot."

An American Sign Language interpreter will be on site during the event to assist the approximately 20 deaf and hard of hearing residents that will be in attendance.

"They receive information differently, so we really got into the community. And we invited them to come out and be a part of this because it's open to everyone," Ciszek said.

Another major component of this year's event will be the opioid crisis response training that will be provided by the Genesee Community Health Center at no cost.

Ciszek said residents need training like this "now more than ever."

"It trains them on how to know the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose and how to safely administer Narcan or Naloxone, and they get a kit that includes Naloxone which is an opioid reversal spray," she said.

For the first time this year, in partnership with the Genesee County Health Department, the vaccine event will feature a new initiative called "Pee for Pizza," which is meant to remove the social stigma attached to sexually transmitted infections.

Residents who complete a urine test for sexually transmitted infections during the event will receive free pizza.

"We're excited and looking forward to this," Ciszek said.

Additionally, R.L. Jones Community Outreach Center will be giving away clothing to attendees.

Ciszek described the setup for the clothing giveaway as a "pop-up shop."

"It's clothing for adults and kids," she said. "We have a lot of people displaced in our community that are going through crisis and just need help."

Those who attend the event will also have the chance to win some giveaway prizes for both adults and children, but Ciszek said Genesee Health Plan is going to wait to announce what those giveaways will be as it doesn't want to "spoil the surprise."

There will also be free ice cream at the event provided by Hav-A-Bar.

"People absolutely love that," Ciszek said.

There are no requirements for residents to sign up or register to take part in the drive-through vaccine event.