Community & Business
2 June, 2022
Flu shot outbreak
IN the midst of a severe Influenza A outbreak, locals are being urged to book a flu vaccination shot with their local GP and pharmacist for free.
Influenza cases are doubling in Queensland every week with more than 4000 cases already reported in 2022.
Tableland pharmacies such as Priceline Pharmacy in Mareeba and WholeLife Pharmacy and Wholefoods in Mareeba and Atherton provide flu shots to residents.
Mareeba Wholelife Pharmacy pharmacist Josh Klein said the recent influx of residents seeking to get their flu shots has not drastically changed their workload.
“We were pretty well set up from the Covid vaccines - it has been a bit busier but it is ok,” he said.
“Being informed prior would have helped but we were lucky that we had everything set up pretty well.
“It is busy but it is manageable, you try and book people in with quite a big window, 15 minutes, which is plenty of time to get everything done.”
The pharmacies now deliver the flu shots on top of Covid vaccines and boosters, Mr Klein estimates he delivers around 10 to 15 vaccines a day, the average number for a typical flu season.
