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It’s Time For A Deal On A Flu Shot

Colorado Public News

You may want to shop around for your flu shot this fall, because businesses are competing for the opportunity to sell you one.

Enticing offers include everything from a $5 discount on the vaccination to free groceries. Rite Aid is giving away coupon books with a flu shot. And if you get stuck at Safeway, you’ll receive a whopping 10 percent off of your shopping trip, anytime through flu season, says Safeway’s Lindsey Carpenter.

There’s good reason for the sharp competition: Analyst say the profit margin for a flu shot runs from 30 to 50 percent.

Dr. Lisa Miller, the state health department’s director of Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology, says it’s not too early to get your shot.

“It takes a couple of weeks for the vaccine to be effective,” she says. “That’s why we recommend people get vaccinated now. We don’t expect to see the flu for a couple of months, at least in large numbers. ”

Health officials say you should not skip a flu shot this year because you had one last year. The vaccination contains the same strains, but “with the flu vaccine, our immunity wanes or decreases over time,” Miller says.  “So we do recommend that every year people get vaccinated, even if those strains remain the same. ”

Last year, only 41 percent of Americans received the vaccination, and 1,000 Coloradans were hospitalized with the flu.

Flu vaccinations tend to cost about $14 to $32.  Some insurers, like Kaiser Permanente, make their flu shots free.

Those with needle phobias will be relieved to know that there are other options. This includes nasal sprays (recommended for people aged two to forty-nine years old) and an intra-dermal vaccination, which only touches the skin and avoids penetrating muscle tissue.

The Centers for Disease Control is recommending immunizations for everyone six months old and up.

For a list of flu shot clinics near you, check the website www.immunizecolorado.com to find the closest clinic.

www.ColoradoPublicNews.org

Colorado Public News is created in partnership with Colorado Public Television 12, Denver’s independent PBS station. It is led by editor Ann Imse. Others on the Colorado Public News team include:Cara DeGette, managing editorNoelle Leavitt, recruiting and social media directorSonya Doctorian, video journalistDrew Jaynes, webmaster and photographerJournalists Bill Scanlon, Dennis Huspeni, Jody Berger, Sara Burnett, Jerd Smith, Michele Conklin, Andy Piper, Lauren Rickel, Raj Sharan, Amanda TurnerRobert D. Tonsing, publication designer and entrepreneur