cbaker_admin
Fri, 08/28/2020 – 10:30
Pharmacies in the Cleveland area are ordering additional influenza vaccine doses as they anticipate that people who did not get vaccinated in the past will want to do so this year. Discount Drug Mart, which operates 76 stores in Northeast Ohio, is starting the season with 20% more influenza vaccine doses than last season, says Jason Briscoe, the company’s director of pharmacy operations. He says the optimal time to get a vaccine is in September or October because it takes about 2 weeks for the influenza vaccine to offer protection. A July survey of American consumers commissioned by CVS Health found that more than 60% of respondents said they definitely or will likely get an influenza vaccine this season, compared with 34% of respondents surveyed in January 2020. CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic locations expect to deliver 18 million influenza vaccinations this year, twice the amount provided during the 2019-20 influenza season, according to corporate communications manager Mary Alfieri Gattuso. Rite Aid regional pharmacy leader Kirsten Gosnik says the company ordered 40% more influenza vaccine doses to meet the expected higher demand this season. A spokesperson for Giant Eagle Pharmacy says they have more influenza vaccine this year as well. Influenza is currently not circulating in Northeast Ohio, but vaccinations are now available at many area pharmacies.
