No plans for check-out jabs here

BRITAIN: Getting a flu vaccination in the supermarket as you pick up some milk and bread does not look likely in the short term, except in Britain.

The Asda supermarket chain announced yesterday that it was to begin a one-off trial on Saturday week when customers will be offered the vaccination for £11.97 (€19.13), a saving of about £8 (€12.74) on the private cost in Britain.

This is considerably less than what people pay here, with GPs charging anything from €30 to €60 to provide the service. However, the vaccine is free for medical-card holders, including everyone over 70.

At Asda, the vaccinations will be provided by nurses from a private healthcare company, Doctorcall. Customers will then be handed a receipt to pay for the vaccination at the check-out with the rest of their shopping. More than 35,000 doses of the vaccine will be available at Asda's 256 stores.

The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) said many questions arose from the plan. Dr Brendan O'Shea, communications chairman of the ICGP, said it was a clear example of the "preventive paradox" where the people who needed the vaccination least were the ones who would get it.

People who really needed the vaccine were not likely to pick it up in a supermarket, he said. Those most vulnerable to influenza included older people, those with a suppressed immune system, diabetics and people with respiratory and heart problems.

GPs simply could not compete with the price offered by Asda, he said, and they would not try.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said it did not know of any moves to offer a similar service in Ireland. A Tesco spokeswoman said the supermarket chain had no plans to offer a similar service in Ireland at present.