This year’s influenza vaccine now available at Rite Aid

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid announced Wednesday that seasonal flu shots are now available at all Rite Aid pharmacies nationwide. Rite Aid carries the standard trivalent flu vaccine, which offers protection against three strains of the flu: the influenza A H3N2 virus, the influenza B virus and the influenza A H1N1. Additionally, a quadrivalent flu vaccine that offers protection against an additional influenza B virus will be available. 

 

“While the timing of flu season is unpredictable, outbreaks can happen as early as October, which is why it is so important to get vaccinated as early as possible,” said Jocelyn Konrad, Rite Aid EVP pharmacy. “Rite Aid encourages people to get a flu shot sooner rather than later, as it is the very best way to protect themselves and their loved ones from getting the flu.”

 

All Rite Aid pharmacies currently have supplies of trivalent and quadrivalent flu vaccines; a high-dose flu shot, approved for people 65 and older, will be available in all stores later this week. Upon request, Rite Aid pharmacists can administer an intradermal flu shot, which uses a smaller needle that is injected into the skin instead of the muscle, approved for people 18-64 years of age.

 

In an effort to help employers avoid what the CDC estimates to be a $10.4 billion in direct costs for flu-related hospitalizations and outpatient visits for adults, Rite Aid will once again have a team dedicated to planning and implementing onsite workplace flu clinics, staffed by certified immunizing Rite Aid pharmacists. Rite Aid is also able to offer employers a voucher program, in which employees receive a flu shot voucher to use at any Rite Aid pharmacy.