DRAPER, Utah (ABC4 News) In the same aisle as you can buy mascara and blush, you can now get an H1N1 swine flu vaccination. 18 Walgreens stores in the Salt Lake Valley began "selling" the shots on Thursday. Each of the pharmacies received 200 doses of the vaccine and they were administered on a first-come, first-served basis. Some stores just had people wait in short lines, others handed out numbers so customers could return later in the day for the shots.
Rick Lowe, the pharmacist at the Walgreens in Draper told ABC4's Ross Becker, "the vaccine is actually paid for by the Federal government. Walgreens is charging an $18 administrative fee for the convienience of being able to walk into your Walgreens and get the shot." Colleen Sands brought her daughters Abigail and Sydney in for the shots. They sat in the make-up aisle and took their "medicine". Abigail said, "I like how its not really in the hospital so it's kinda..like less scary and imtimidating and...I can go shopping."
The 18 Walgreen stores were out of the limited doses of vaccine by 4 p.m., but managers say they expect for from the Salt Lake Valley Health Department next week. Smith's and Harmon's pharmacies also received doses from the health department and have been taking reservations for shots to be delivered on Friday.
For updated info go back to the ABC4.com homepage and click on the H1N1 tab in the orange box for the ABC4 Vaccine Tracker.
