COLUMBUS – You can now grab a head of lettuce, a box of granola and your third-grader’s flu shot in one trip.
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And this flu season is going to be the first big test of how popular the option is with parents, many of whom get their own flu shots at retail pharmacies.
This is the first flu season in which Ohio pharmacists are allowed to administer shots to children as young as seven. The change in the law allows them to give kids all the shots recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to the change, effective in March, Ohio pharmacists were only able to give flu shots to patients 14 years or older.
The CDC recommends an annual flu shot for everyone older than six months.
“It is important for all eligible individuals, particularly children and senior citizens, who are most susceptible to disease, to receive the flu vaccine this season,” says Tara Green, pharmacist for Kroger’s Columbus Division. “The vaccine not only protects you from becoming ill, but it also prevents the disease from transmitting to others.”
Pharmacists can give flu vaccine without a prescription, but they need a prescription from a doctor for other vaccines, said Brigid Long, a pharmacist and clinical coordinator for Kroger pharmacies in Columbus.
Long said pharmacists with the grocer have undergone training to help them prepare for their younger customers. That includes learning distraction techniques such as having a child hold a lollipop in each hand while the shot is administered.
Most pharmacies that have been giving shots to older customers are expected to offer vaccines to children as well, though it might take some time for them to stock everything the CDC recommends, said Ernie Boyd, executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association.
Different types of vaccine available at retail pharmacies include the common trivalent vaccine, which protects against three strains Americans can expect to be exposed to during the flu season; the quadrivalent vaccine that covers an extra strain of influenza, and high-dose vaccines, which contains four times more antigen than the regular vaccine and gives older adults, who are more susceptible to the flu, said Green.
The nasal spray version, which arrived this week, will be available while supplies last, Kroger Columbus Division spokeswoman Jennifer Jarrell said.