Lloydspharmacy Wishes Customers A Flu-Less Christmas

Released on: December 11, 2009, 11:32 am
Author: Lloydspharmacy
Industry: Healthcare

Lloydspharmacy has announced that it has cut the price of its winter flu vaccinations by more than half price to encourage more people to protect themselves against the virus.

Recent research carried out by Lloydspharmacy found that take up for the vaccine has fallen this year*. This could be due to a misguided belief that the swine flu jab will protect against winter flu**. However, price may also be a factor as people cut back during the recession. At £5, the Lloydspharmacy winter flu vaccine is now the cheapest on the high street compared to Asda and Tesco which are both priced at £8.00.

Chris Frost, pharmacist and director at Lloydspharmacy, said: "Winter flu can be debilitating and in some cases lead to very serious health issues. By making the vaccines available in our pharmacies across the country we've already improved access. Now they're even more affordable we hope to have removed another barrier to people protecting themselves. The last thing anyone wants is to have flu over Christmas."

Seasonal flu is responsible for the deaths of about 8,000 people in the UK a year and tends to affect the more vulnerable or elderly people. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control forecast that the swine flu and seasonal flu strains could each claim 40,000 lives across Europe this winter.

People over the age of 65 qualify for a free NHS seasonal flu vaccination as do people with conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Others are able to get themselves protected on the high street. Lloydspharmacy offers a seasonal flu vaccination service in 260 of its pharmacies.

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Editor's notes
* Opinium Research conducted for Lloydsphamacry among 2007 people in the UK between 4-6th November 2009 found 54% of people aged 65+ had received the winter flu vaccine. In 2008 uptake of the seasonal flu vaccine among over 65s was 73.5%
** ICM Omnibus 'Flu' Vaccinations Survey 25-27th September 2009 among 1003 people found almost two in five people wrongly believe that the swine flu vaccine will also protect them against winter flu.

About Lloydspharmacy
Lloydspharmacy has around 1700 pharmacies across the UK. These are based predominantly in community and health centre locations. The company employs over 17,000 staff and dispenses over 145 million prescription items annually.

Lloydspharmacy which is a community pharmacy has primary care at the heart of its business. This is why it has launched a range of products aimed at improving community health such as affordable blood pressure monitors and allergy relievers, as well as a suite of convenient professional health check services including free blood pressure and diabetes testing, and cholesterol and heart checks in the comfort of a private consultation room.

For further media information please contact:
Claire Connolly
Press officer
Lloydspharmacy Limited
Sapphire Court
Walsgrave Triangle
Coventry
CV2 2TX
024 7643 2192
www.lloydspharmacy.com