Often free, flu shots can save billions for consumers, businesses

It pays to prevent the flu.

It doesn’t just help you avoid a week or two of misery, it saves you — and your employer — lots of money. And it’s easier than ever to avail yourself of what doctors say is the best defense against the virus: the flu vaccine.

“The flu can be a life-threatening illness, and it may be more risky for a chronically ill person, an elderly person or young people in the community,” says Paul Schulz, system epidemiologist for Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Ky. “And even if you don’t worry much about the medical aspect, I would think people would worry about the economics and lost work.”

An estimated $10.4 billion is spent annually on direct costs for hospitalizations and outpatient visits for adults who get the flu, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And lost earnings account for an additional $16.3 billion each year.

A recent CDC study in the journal Vaccine looked at 282 kids under the age of 5 in three U.S. cities and found parents had medical expenses for their flu-stricken children ranging from $300 to about $4,000 for doctor’s office and emergency room visits. They also missed between 11 and 73 hours of work.

Consumers can get immunized not just at doctors’ offices, but quickly in drugstores, supermarket-based clinics and, increasingly, even workplaces.

Getting the flu "really is miserable no matter how long it takes," says Papatya Tankut, vice president of pharmacy services for CVS Health.

CVS encourages people to get flu shots ASAP because it takes at least two weeks for the immunity to build up. A CVS study this summer found two-thirds of employed Americans would go to work even if they had flu-like symptoms.

The prospect of missing work was on 32-year-old Galina Goldentul’s mind when she got a flu shot recently at Norton Brownsboro Hospital in Louisville. She’s a part-time production artist and mother of a preschooler, and says with her limited hours, “It’s really important to work the days I’m supposed to.”

Plus, she says, “It’s my responsibility not only to protect myself but those around me.”

Each year, the CDC says, 5% to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu, hospitalizations for flu-related complications total 226,000 and 3,000 to 49,000 people die.

“It’s harder and harder to have a good excuse” not to protect yourself, Schulz says. The Affordable Care Act requires flu vaccines to be covered by insurance without a co-pay or co-insurance, so anyone who has a new plan — rather than one grandfathered in under the pre-ACA rules — should be able to get it for free. The uninsured pay about $15 to $32 per shot.

Joe Thompson, manager of volunteer services at Norton, says he knows how important it is to get vaccinated; his daughter's 2010 bout with flu developed into pneumonia and put her in the pediatric intensive care unit for three days. On a recent morning, he got a shot at Norton Brownsboro from nurse Annette Mazzoni, who says immunization doesn't just keep workers safe.

“If we vaccinate as many employees and volunteers as possible,” she says, “we can keep it out of the community.”

Flu vaccine choices

Seniors and others with either compromised immune systems or squeamishness about shots may need or want something different than a regular flu shot. Here are the choices:

• High-dose vaccine. Has four times the antigens  for to give those 65 and older — at greater risk of developing severe forms of the flu — additional protection. 
• Quadrivalent vaccine. Standard flu vaccines protect against three different viruses, but the quadrivalent vaccine  protects against four. CVS recommends people check with their insurers about costs and coverage.
• FluMist or nasal spray. Available to children as young as 2 and for healthy adults through age 49, flu vaccines including Quadrivalent can also be given through the nose. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says children younger than 9 may need two doses during the same flu season.

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