Walgreens' Chief Pharmacy Officer on Biggest Flu Shot Misconceptions

Men's Journal1

Rick Gates, Walgreens' chief pharmacy officer, is debunking the greatest misconceptions around flu shots and how to stay healthy over the holidays.

Transcript

00:00Absolutely, people should get vaccinated and I think it's really important to understand

00:08that just because you don't have high incidence right now doesn't mean that flu is not going

00:12to ramp up as people start to travel and get on airplanes and all those types of things.

00:17I think what's important to understand is that when you get vaccinated, it takes about

00:20two weeks to get fully protected from the flu or the COVID virus or pneumonia or RSV.

00:27So the earlier that you can get vaccinated, the more important it is, and then that's

00:31going to carry protection for you throughout the holidays to protect yourself and your

00:35loved ones.

00:38So I know it's easy to think that the flu is just like a cold.

00:41In reality, the flu can cause serious disease, upper respiratory tract infections, and ultimately

00:46some people have died or do die from the flu.

00:49And so it's important that you protect yourself.

00:51And when you get a flu vaccine, I think what's important about that is it actually protects

00:55you from getting even more serious complications that could come if you do get the infection

00:59somewhere down the line.

01:00So I think that I think it's a bit of a falsity to think that it's just a common cold and

01:05it does protect you from more serious conditions.

01:09I think it's important to remember that you can get multiple vaccinations at Walgreens

01:14and it's going to be not just flu, but the COVID, which is not just a booster now, it's

01:18actually a new COVID kind of formulation.

01:20So they brought in the newer viruses that are available the last year and really protects

01:25you for the viruses circulating this year.

01:28You have RSV as well as pneumonia shots.

01:30So anything that could be upper respiratory tract infections that could really impact

01:35you in this fall season, you can get at Walgreens.

01:38And I'll tell you, my own personal journey, I got three vaccines at one time.

01:42You can get multiple vaccines on any visit when you go into the pharmacy.

01:46I think what's most important is you talk to your pharmacist.

01:50What generally happens is when you get vaccinated by either flu or COVID, it takes about two

01:55weeks for the antibodies in your body to really ramp up to give you the maximum protection

02:01that you're going to have.

02:02Remember, these are actually what are considered kind of dead viruses that they're putting

02:06into your system and your body has to create antibodies against that.

02:11So I think sometimes people ask, will I get sick from getting a flu shot or a COVID shot?

02:15You won't because these are not live viruses.

02:17They are just there to really allow your body to create antibodies and then get up

02:21to maximum protection in case you do get infected or get around an infection.

02:28I think it's important to go ask questions, get tested so you can see if you do have either

02:32flu or COVID.

02:34And if you do have flu or COVID, the beautiful thing is you can actually get treated for

02:37it as well.

02:38There are some states where pharmacists can actually prescribe Paxilovid or Tamiflu so

02:42that you can actually be treated for it as well.

02:45And sometimes if you need to, we can actually deliver the test straight to your home if

02:49that's what you need.

02:50So the beauty is with flu and COVID, I think there's lots of opportunities to understand

02:54how do you differentiate between the two and then how do you treat yourself or get yourself

02:58treated if you do have them.

03:00If you do catch COVID or flu, we can absolutely help.

03:04I think at that point in time, it's symptomatic relief and I think that's where some of the

03:08solutions we have like at-home delivery, you can order on your app and we can deliver back

03:13to home.

03:15I think when you do get sick, it's just really treating the symptoms that you do have.

03:19And I think that's what we're here for.

03:20We can also have pharmacists give you advice for how long you may be sick, how long to

03:24maybe keep yourself away from your family members and loved ones so that when you do

03:29get healthy, you can kind of get back out into your world and kind of re-engage the

03:32way that you normally want to.

03:35You know, whenever I think of vaccinations, I think it's all about protecting not only

03:39yourself, but your loved ones and your families and friends.

03:41So I think as you look at the holiday season that's coming up, I think it's really important

03:45to go to your pharmacy and pharmacist, ask questions if you have them.

03:49Vaccines are very safe and effective ways to really protect yourself, but you have to

03:53give yourself time in advance of the holidays to make sure that you get maximum protection

03:57for yourself and your loved ones.

03:59I think sometimes people get vaccinated more for their loved ones than they do themselves,

04:03but I think it's a really important way to think about the holiday season because you're

04:06going to be traveling on planes with people you don't know.

04:08You're going to be sometimes in environments where you don't want somebody who may be compromised

04:13or more sick to actually get sick based off of you having something that you're bringing

04:17to them.

04:18So I think that's just something we all need to think about heading into the holidays.

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