Public health officials are urging Islanders to participate in a free, Islandwide flu clinic that will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7. The free clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

With flu shot supply still limited on the Vineyard, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital announced on Wednesday that an Islandwide flu clinic would be held on Nov. 7 at the regional high school.

Heightened demand for flu vaccinations and slow distribution statewide are causing a temporary shortage of the vaccine for many Island suppliers.

With growing global concern over the coronavirus, Island health officials are bracing for another historic year for a more familiar virus: the flu.

Flu season is bad this year across the country and Island health care leaders are taking note, with an extra immunization clinic announced this week.

The past week has been a sad one for this community, for the Grim Reaper has visited us and taken a very heavy toll.

Last week we chronicled the death of Mrs. Margaret A. Cleveland, and in this issued is recorded the passing of Wendell P. Ripley, aged 21; Albert C. Lambert, 36; Gerald A. Pease, 34; Frank A. Howard, 35; the deaths of all resulting from fatal illnesses preceded by influenza.

A total of 528 people of all ages received flu vaccines this weekend through the Island boards of health annual flu clinic.

The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reports a steady flow of people coming into the emergency department with upper respiratory illness. It is not too late to get a flu shot, public health officials said.

His family members and friends got inoculated at their doctors or druggists. But James Paul, 65, got his shot at the West Tisbury school, without so much as leaving his car.

Island boards of health are encouraging Vineyarders to take extra precaution and receive free vaccinations at clinics scheduled for this weekend.

The drive-through clinics are today from 9 a.m. to noon at the West Tisbury School and Waban Park in Oak Bluffs.