Pharmacies are bracing for a surge in demand for flu shots amid the Covid-19 pandemic
With flu season fast approaching, and the Covid-19 pandemic raging on, hospitals and pharmacies across the country are stockpiling far more flu vaccines than normal, anticipating a surge in demand.
The drug store chain Rite Aid has purchased 40% more influenza vaccines than other years to meet an expected uptick in demand. Walgreens has also increased its flu vaccine stockpile this year, anticipating a 30% to 50% jump in customers who will want flu shots, the company’s chief medical officer told STAT. And Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers in a hearing this week that the agency had ordered an additional 9.3 million adult flu vaccines this year. Redfield said widespread flu vaccine coverage “could help our nation avert a very difficult fall.”
