|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Raleigh, NC – Mixing funnel cakes and spinning rides with flu shots is a unique way to reach out to the public to dispense vaccines as well as medication advice, but after a strong response last year, Raleigh based Kerr Drug is returning to the state fair. The community pharmacy that pioneered the training of clinical pharmacists to administer vaccines to patients is returning to the North Carolina State Fair and staffing two booths, one on the midway, the other at a busy gate, to administer flu shots and medication advice.
The company has signed on as the official pharmacy of the North Carolina State Fair, which opens Thursday, October 14th and runs through Sunday, October 24th. Kerr Drug’s pharmacists will administer the all-in-one flu shot to individuals 18 years and old from two locations at the fair.
The state fair outreach is part of Kerr Drug’s response to new Centers for Disease Control recommendations that everyone older than six months receive a flu shot. The company launched its immunizing campaign in late August and continues to meet the demand for flu vaccines at its stores, in workplace and group settings, and at special events such as the NC State Fair. Kerr Drug is also dispensing flu shots at two other fairs in the western part of the state. This year’s all-in-one flu shot will protect against the H1N1 as well as two other types of seasonal flu. There is no separate vaccine for people who just want a seasonal flu vaccine without the H1N1 component.
“Staffing booths at the state fair to deliver flu shots is community pharmacy in the truest sense and it works because we are not only protecting our patients from the flu we are also making pharmacists available to answer medication questions,” says Anthony “Tony” Civello, CEO of Kerr Drug. “Kerr Drug is proud to be the official pharmacy of the NC State Fair because our roots are in North Carolina.”
Last year, the company delivered 5,000 flu shots and because of the success of the program, expects to deliver a larger number this year. Most major insurance plans are accepted.
“We encourage everyone to follow the Centers for Disease Control’s new recommendations for flu vaccines because a flu shot is still the best protection against the flu,” adds Civello.
Subscribe to our FREE Ezine and receive current Health News, be eligible for discounted products/services and coupons related to your Health. We publish 24/7.
HealthNewsDigest.com
For advertising/promotion, email: [email protected] Or call toll free: 877- 634-9180