As the pharmacy manager at Sav-on Drugs in the Albertson’s
grocery store, Robert Poelker decided to offer flu vaccines for the
first time this year.
With nationwide and regional reports that flu season started
earlier than usual
– and that it could be more dangerous – Poelker has been flooded
with business. In between issuing daily doses of prescriptions at
the pharmacy, he has given about eight to 10 flu vaccinations a
day, he said.
As the pharmacy manager at Sav-on Drugs in the Albertson’s grocery store, Robert Poelker decided to offer flu vaccines for the first time this year.
With nationwide and regional reports that flu season started earlier than usual – and that it could be more dangerous – Poelker has been flooded with business. In between issuing daily doses of prescriptions at the pharmacy, he has given about eight to 10 flu vaccinations a day, he said.
“Out of all the stores in Northern California, I’m probably number one,” he said.
Each winter, a different strand of the flu, or influenza, spreads and peaks in January or February. This year, experts say it could peak a lot earlier, maybe even this month.
A network of physicians in the Central Valley, for instance, gather information on the virus and have reported increases in flu activity during the past few weeks, according to Muree Reafs, the county’s director of nursing.
So residents getting the vaccine as soon as possible could help contain much of the spreading locally. And although some people are more vulnerable than others – such as the elderly, young children and healthcare workers – local health officials say everyone should be vaccinated.
“A lot of people wonder if they should get the flu virus or be vaccinated,” Reafs said. “And certainly our recommendation is to do so.”
Poelker’s pharmacy isn’t the only place residents can get the shots. Reafs recommended people call their private physicians or Hazel Hawkins Hospital. The hospital has given the shots since the end of October and will probably continue until the end of December, according to the hospital’s marketing director, Frankie Valent.
The two other major pharmacies in town – at Safeway and at Nob Hill – are finished issuing flu vaccines this season. While Poelker said he would continue giving shots, which take about five minutes, indefinitely.
The shot is an inactivated vaccine of influenza, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In preparing the immune system, it can cause reactions, but won’t give people the virus. And it takes about two weeks to take effect.
The flu is highly infectious, according to the CDC, and can lead to pneumonia. On average in the U.S., about 36,000 people die and 114,000 are hospitalized each year.
Aside from getting shots, Reafs pointed out other ways to prevent further spread of the virus. People should drink a lot of water, cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing and wash their hands.
“It’s something that’s out there in the air, but those are things that can reduce it,” she said.
