A BODMIN supermarket is one of just 13 in the country offering the UK’s first ever drive-through flu jab service.
Asda is launching the service in its car parks to help vulnerable people get the vaccination without risk of exposing themselves to COVID-19.
The vaccinations are free of charge to anyone eligible for a free flu jab on the NHS, such
as elderly people, pregnant women, those with underlying health conditions, and frontline health care workers – including those who work in places such as care homes or nursing homes, as well as home carers.
Asda Pharmacy says there is a clear need for the service, as research it has carried out shows that over a quarter of UK adults (28%) say they are currently putting off getting a flu jab over concerns about visiting GPs and pharmacies as they fear coming into contact with someone who is suffering from COVID-19.
But flu jabs could be more vital than ever this year to avoid people who get flu like symptoms incorrectly fearing they have COVID-19. Indeed, more than a third of respondents (35%) in the Asda Pharmacy study said that they would worry people assumed they had COVID if they were seen to be coughing. The research also found that 40% of UK adults believe that it could be harder to get treatment for flu this winter as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
Maq Din, Lead Pharmacist at Asda Pharmacy said: “The sad truth is that there is an increased mortality risk if you catch COVID-19 when you already have the flu. As a result some of our most vulnerable members of society are at twice the risk compared to others*, which is why we are encouraging everyone to get a flu jab this year.
“We are putting a number of measures in place at our drive-through flu jab centres , so patients can be assured that it is safe to visit – and they won’t even need to leave their car to get a jab. Contact time will be kept to a minimum in order to allow pharmacists to be as efficient as possible.”
To get one of the jabs, patients need to visit https://storelocator.asda.com/, find their nearest centre by entering their postcode and book an appointment, either by phone, or directly with the store. When they arrive and park in a vaccination station bay, patients will have their jab administered by a pharmacist through the vehicle’s window: drivers will be injected into their right arm, whilst passengers will receive the jab in their left.