Hartsfield clinic to add kiosks for flu shots

By Kelly Yamanouchi

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Check your bags, navigate the security checkpoint ... and get a flu shot?

The medical clinic at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport plans to open seven kiosks offering seasonal flu shots starting Sept. 15.

The clinic dispensed about 10,000 flu shots last year, and the company that runs it is expanding the service this year because it expects heavier demand, said Rosemary Kelly, chief marketing officer of the AeroClinic.

The Atlanta company opened its first clinic at Hartsfield-Jackson in 2007 and last year offered flu shots from the main location on the second floor of the atrium and two kiosks. AeroClinic has since opened a second location near the main security checkpoint, and it’s putting additional kiosks on concourses for flu shots. The shots cost $35.

While flu season typically doesn’t start until Oct. 1, the company is offering the shots a bit early “to accommodate people who want to get a jump-start on flu season,” and plans to offer them at least through the end of December, Kelly said.

“I think H1N1 has just made people more aware of the need for the seasonal flu vaccination,” even if it protects against a different type of flu.

Kelly said it takes about 10 minutes to get the shot. The company accepts Medicare and can provide insurance paperwork.

The AeroClinic hopes to get an allocation of H1N1 flu vaccine when it becomes available, which is estimated around mid-October.