Panama City, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health in Bay County (DOH-Bay) will be partnering with Operation Spay Bay to provide a drive-thru rabies vaccination clinic on Friday, April 22, from 3 pm until 6 pm at the Bay County Fairgrounds, 2230 15^th Street, Panama City.

Veterinarians from Operation Spay Bay will provide the vaccine and administer the injections. Heathy pet exams will also be offered. The cost for the vaccine and healthy pet exam will be $10 each. Payment can be made by cash or credit card; checks will not be accepted. A certificate of vaccination and rabies tag will be provided. This clinic is limited to healthy dogs and cats. Sick pets will not be seen. Individuals are asked to enter the fairgrounds at the Sherman Avenue entrance. Pets must be secured in a vehicle, crate or on leash.  

“We are happy to partner with Operation Spay Bay to provide this service to the community”, said Sandon S. Speedling, MHS, CPM, CPH, Administrator and Health Officer, Florida Department of Health in Bay County. “Having this event allows our staff to train for conducting a vaccine Point of Distribution (POD) using our Incident Command Structure”.

Rabies is a viral infection of the nervous system.  When left untreated, an exposure to the rabies virus is almost always fatal.  Each year rabies kills more than 50,000 people and millions of animals around the world.

Florida law requires dogs and cats four months or older be vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian against rabies.  Unvaccinated dogs and cats should be kept indoors. Cats are the domestic animal most likely to be infected with rabies.  Keep cats indoors. Do not touch wild animals or stray cats or dogs.  No animal is too young to have rabies.

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