Walgreens Injects a Million Flu Shots
September 17, 2009 by Cherie Burbach
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
More people are getting their flu shots this year if we look at the number Walgreens alone has given out thus far. In just two weeks, since September 1st, the chain has already injected one million shots. That is almost as many as they did in all of flu season last year.
Flu shots cost $24.99 and a flu nasal spray alternative is $29.99 at Walgreens clinics. Appointments are recommended but not usually needed. Watch for hours and times at your local store to see when you can get your shot.
Image: sxc.hu.
Walgreens (and other for-profits) bought up so many doses of the seasonal flu shot that nonprofit health organizations that normally GIVE shots away for free have not been able to get the doses that the flu shot manufacturers committed to. That means that the elderly who can’t get out to a Walgreens or can’t afford $25 don’t get their dose from their visiting nurse.
I have this on excellent authority from a relative that’s working to get sufficient doses for their non-profit health organization. My employer, a college, normally provides shots to staff and students, but the clinics have been canceled because they’ve run out. Same thing for our local hospitals. This is wrong. I don’t know if Walgreens out-bid the nonprofits or what, but the flu manufacturers have screwed us in the name of profit.
Walgreens is advertising that they’ll give away $1 million in vouchers for a free flu shot at their stores IF you visit one of their Walgreens buses, which are impossible to find in our area. Whoopee, that’s 40,000 doses, a drop in the bucket compared with the millions they’ll make selling to the rest of us.