But now, fighting the flu proactively during the ongoing pandemic presents important challenges: not only how to manage the shot safely and easily, but also how to ask people to get a shot that a majority of Americans typically distrust. , dismissal and skipping.
With many places where the flu is rampant – including offices and plants offering it free of charge to on-site staff and school science clinics – officials have reached out to local health departments, health care providers and corporations to regulate distribution. From today until October 31, publicity campaigns will blow through social media, billboards, television and radio. Because the shooter will be harder to access this year, people are being told to get it as soon as possible, although immunity is declining. There will be tents with flu with heating in parking lots and pop-up clinics in empty school buildings.
Because of the efforts, vaccine makers estimate that a record 98 million flu shots will be given in the United States this year, about 15 percent more than doses ordered last year. The Kaiser Permanent Health Care System will flood more than 12 million of its members with reminders of flu shots via postcard, email, text and phone calls.
Pharmacies and even supermarkets are expected to play a larger role than in previous years. Starting this week, Walgreens and CVS will have flu shots available. Walgreens will host additional off-site flu vaccine clinics in community centers and churches. To reduce contact time, CVS allows patients to fill out digital paperwork.
In New York City, which has an average of about 2,000 flu-related deaths a year, the health department has reached out to hundreds of independent pharmacies to manage the shots, as they are often located in suburban neighborhoods where coronavirus is present. refurbished. The health department has a detailed online vaccine for flu.
“Access is a problem for all adult vaccines,” said LJ Tan, chief strategy officer for the Immunization Action Coalition, a nonprofit group working to increase vaccination rates, which was an early promoter of the term twindemy. . “Adults think maybe, If I could get the flu easily, I might consider it.”
