Health officials see no repeat of last year's flu scare

Last winter's long lines of panicked people waiting for flu shots to combat an impending H1N1 pandemic are not expected to resurface this season.

Instead, health officials say supplies of the influenza vaccine - which includes the solution targeting H1N1 and two other flu strains - are sufficient this year.

With flu season just around the corner, health officials are encouraging more people than ever before to vaccinate. Everyone over 6 months old is encouraged to have the vaccination.

Even so, they say, we won't see the emergency mass clinics that we saw last year. More pharmacies, clinics and health care providers all have the new vaccine in hand and are ready to begin distributing shots, they insist.

Many Walgreens, CVS and grocery store pharmacies have expanded the hours during which they offer the vaccine. Many retailers are posting signs in the parking lot advertising the shots. Walgreens even offers a flu shot gift card to help promote the vaccination.

Companies may have different rules and prices.

For example, if you're headed to Walgreens, here are a few things to keep in mind.

• The cost of the shot is $29.95 and is covered by many insurance companies.

• Pharmacists are able to administer the vaccination during pharmacy hours at stores without Take Care Clinics.

• If a pharmacist administers the shot, children must be at least 14 years old.

• At Take Care Clinics, nurse practitioners administer the shots and are able to give the vaccine to anyone over 6 months of age.

• No appointments are needed.

Even if you received the H1N1 shot last year, you'll need another shot this season. Because flu viruses change from year to year, vaccinations received last season won't help you this year, health officials say. The back-to-school season is a popular time to administer flu shots, said Walgreens spokeswoman Tiffani Washington. She added that many parents made sure their college students were vaccinated before heading back to school.

The shots were made available earlier this season. Last year Walgreens started administering flu shots on Sept. 1. This year, many stores had the vaccine in early August.

It puts some minds at ease that the World Health Organization declared an end to the H1N1 pandemic last month, based on indications that the H1N1 flu was transitioning to a more seasonal virus. But between 15 million and 62 million people get sick even in an average flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications each year resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the CDC says.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=407436">A physician explains the flu shot</a></li>

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