this is awful-va has no serum for flu shots

I'm pissed! we hear all this bull from the right about how we need to stop

government spending! well I had a friend get his at a local chain store! he used his medicare card! they charged medicare $36 for the shot which would have cost $24 if he paid for it! but what really pissed him and me off was he could nave gotten it free at a "VA" CLINIC!

ALL THESE STORES ARE ADVERTISING AND THEY ARE PROBABLY ALL CHARGING $36 ADDTIONAL TO MEDICARE OR YOUR INSURANCE COMPANIES! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THE MEDICAL FIELD?

LIKE THE MARCH OF DIMES LETS START COLLECTIONS FOR THE FLU SHOTS! LETS SEE THAT THEY GO TO CLINICS OR HOSPITAL CLINICS THEN DOCTORS OFFICES! LETS CUT THE PROFIT OUT OF THE FLU SHOTS!

LETS INVESTIGATE HOW MUCH MONEY THESE COMPANIES ARE PAYING AND HOW MUCH THEY ARE TAKEN IN! FORGET THE COOKED BOOK BOTTOM LINE!

LETS STOP THE WASTE IN GOVERNMENT! LETS TAKE THE HOGS OUT OF THE FEEDING TROUGH!
lets make sure that all veteran administration hospitals,all state and municipal clinics and hospitals and all doctors get their supply of flu shots before any is given to businesses!
this stinks of greed!

a smaller approved amount?

How close is the local chain store as compared to the drive (gas and time cost) to the nearest VA clinic?

Our local county health service gives flu shots for about $15, is there such a thing in your area?

From the OP "LETS STOP THE WASTE IN GOVERNMENT! LETS TAKE THE HOGS OUT OF THE FEEDING TROUGH!" I suggest the hogs at the trough in DC, as well as local and state governments be replaced by non-incumbents. But that won't happen, because we vote for 'the name you know.' They all know that, so they don't care.

We speak volumes about term limits, and then reelect them every two years - sometimes for life. That's why there are 17 senators older than John McCain.

1. You all can have mine .... every time I get a flu shot ... I get the flu ...
when I skip the shot ... I don't get the flu .... haven't taken a shot since 1996 ... when I retired from the mil.
they ORDERED you to take one ... and you had to ... period ....

2. I wonder if the chain is using last years serum .... I haven't heard of the new batch out yet ...
it is also possible that the HQ for the chain got their order in ... paid for it .. and now has the serum ..
gov't takes longer ... more hoops to jump thru to get the goods ....
it could be just that simple ....

since the stuff in the shot is dead virus, you cannot get the disease from it so maybe being in the military, wherever you were, around whomever you were, was what got you sick. What were they symptoms you got after having a flu vx?

And yes, the new batch is out. They are not using "last yrs serum".

my symptoms were fever, body aches, nausea ... etc
went to sickcall and was told .. yep you got the flu ...
I also know they use a dead virus .... but when you live and
work pretty much 24/7 around the same ppl ...
it is possible I got a strain of flu that they did not
have in the serum ... I think they have 3 strains in the batch
they guess which ones will be the worse ....
but since I got out of the miltary ... I haven't gotten
a flu shot or the flu ... go figure ...

and away from where people are as much as you can to lessen exposure. I get the flu shot every yr due to crappy lungs, get colds and sometimes flu but not as much as I used to. Not as much hacking for sure.

It's certainly not true at my local clinic.

Pay twice for that crap.

"va has no serum for flu shots" I misinterpreted va as VA, meaning Virginia. Luckily, a latter post clarified it for me.

I was going to say that the distribution of flu shots state by state seems to be quite erratic.

Oh, and I'm in the "I never gets a flu shot, I never get the flu" camp. I am really disturbed by the current recommendation that everyone, with minor exceptions for those with compromised immune systems, get the shot. I don't try to dissuade those who personally find it a good idea to get one, but I stand by my own personal experience. It may help that I got flu several times in my youth, including probably the Asian flu in 1957 (I'm 62), and so I have enormous confidence in my immunity status.

A store or clinic can charge for the cost of the vaccine and for giving it. If they charge you for it, they can't bill insurance for it also as this is insurance fraud. As with clinic visits, or anything related to health care, you will probably pay less than they charge and insurance co (or medicare) for. Finally, just because they charge insurance some amount does not mean they get paid that is most ins companies pay less.

The cost for the vaccine is in a link below, ranges about $8-13/dose just for the vaccine, then there is typically a $10-20 "cost of administering" it added on for the paperwork, time, syringe, staff, etc.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/imm-flu-vaccorderform.pdf


Here is CDC influenza vx cost, for Adults it ranges $7.83-13.25 (injectable vx, mist costs more):
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/cdc-vac-price-list.htm


"ALL THESE STORES ARE ADVERTISING AND THEY ARE PROBABLY ALL CHARGING $36 ADDTIONAL TO MEDICARE OR YOUR INSURANCE COMPANIES! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THE MEDICAL FIELD?" These stores cannot charge you AND insurance for the same shot and are not "the medical field". Not sure what the rant is about them being "medical field". They are dispensing flu vx to help take the pressure off "the medical field" since it can be a waste of time/resources to dispense routine vx's like this in a clinic.

My local clinics are happy to not have to spend time giving flu vx to most of the population as they are too busy dealing with other health issues. Oh yes, my local clinics do have flu vx, are doing shot clinics but also are very happy that local in-store pharmacies are picking up a bunch.

(I phoned them to check.)

VA facilities in some states began offering flu shots earlier. In Maryland, for example:




Unless you have credible sources reporting a flu vx shortage, you should not be spreading hysterical rumors.