Respiratory virus season coming up. Find protection at your local pharmacy.
Every fall, millions of Georgians do something ordinary, but important. They stop by their local pharmacy for the seasonal vaccines that help protect them during back-to-school season and through the winter.
As families settle into the school year and the respiratory virus season approaches, local pharmacies serve as more than a place to pick up a prescription.
Your neighborhood pharmacist can give you and your family the seasonal vaccines you need to stay healthy, right on the spot, no prescription required. It’s protection that fits into a routine errand, on your schedule.
For many Georgians, especially when a doctor’s office is far away and appointments are scarce, local pharmacies are the most accessible place to get protected. That accessibility matters most this time of year.
Skipping vaccinations comes with a high cost
We know what a hard respiratory virus season looks like, because we just lived one. Last year, Georgia came through one of its worst flu seasons in five years, with roughly 196 flu-related deaths and more than 3,400 hospitalizations.
Through that surge, it was pharmacies that carried much of the load, filling flu prescriptions and vaccinating those who walked in. Respiratory viruses spread fast, and getting vaccinated is one of the most effective ways to blunt the next surge before it starts.
The cost of skipping vaccinations isn’t only measured in illness. Flu alone costs American families and employers an estimated $11.2 billion a year in medical bills and lost productivity.
Every individual who doesn’t get vaccinated could mean a worker out sick, a parent home with a child or a small business short-staffed at the worst possible time. Convenient vaccinations are one of the most practical investments we’ve made to keep Georgians healthy and working.
Georgians have long counted on their local pharmacists to help them stay healthy. Of Georgians who got a flu shot last year, 78% went to their local pharmacy to do so. Across the nation, 93% of Americans live within 5 miles of a pharmacy. Pharmacies are one of the few care settings within reach for nearly everyone, especially rural Georgians.
Take your questions to your local pharmacist
About 75% of Georgia’s 159 counties contain a designated primary care shortage area, and 53 of our 120 rural counties have no hospital. That’s exactly why vaccine accessibility at the pharmacy matters. It’s the easiest path to protection for the people who rely on it most.
When Georgians are vaccinated, they help protect the people around them, like older relatives and neighbors whose health can’t withstand a serious illness.
As you and your family prepare for fall, talk to your local pharmacist about getting your vaccinations and staying healthy. Ask which vaccines make sense for you and your family, and get them before respiratory virus season is in full swing. After the winter we just had, it’s worth staying a step ahead.
Georgia’s pharmacies are trusted, accessible partners in keeping our communities healthy. This fall, they stand ready to help all Georgians who want to be vaccinated do so, close to home and when they want it.
Scott Thorpe is the executive director and founder of the Southern Alliance for Public Health Leadership. Scott has held senior leadership roles at the Georgia Department of Public Health, Partners in Health and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
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