The county’s Department of Public Health put out an alert Wednesday to urge residents to go get the flu shot, even though the flu season has been in full swing for months.
However, one of the problems residents are finding about the flu vaccine, which physicians generally recommend people get in October, before winter gets here, is that a lot of places are out of it.
The Signal reached out to more than 20 retail pharmacies Wednesday afternoon to determine which locations still have the vaccine available, creating a list at the end of this story.
The shortages have been caused primarily by two factor, according to numerous pharmacists The Signal spoke to Wednesday: the strands of influenza A and B going around this year are particularly strong; and there’s been a nationwide surge of diagnoses late in what’s traditionally known as flu season.
In fact, county health officials urged the business community to be understanding of employees calling in sick, during a news conference Wednesday.
“It’s very important for people to get vaccinated against flu,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the second thing is, it’s very important for people who are sick to be able to stay home — and that requires the cooperation of so many of our business partners. People need to be allowed to stay home when they’re sick, and they need to be allowed to stay home to care for their children.”
The numbers indicate the severity of the symptoms, compared to previous years: to date, there are 36 confirmed influenza-associated deaths in Los Angeles County; however, last year at this time, there were only 13 deaths, which mostly affect infants, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
Additionally, this flu season, emergency room visits for influenza-like illness symptoms are up 130 percent countywide, and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital officials recently reported that it usually sees about 200 patients per day in its emergency room during winter, putting it near capacity — and as a result of this year’s flu season, its patient intake numbers have been about 25 percent higher than that, on average.
There generally are two types of vaccines, a “high” dose, which is for those who are 65 and older, because it has a more concentrated dose of the virus, geared toward senior citizens, and what’s generally referred to as the “regular” dose, for pretty much everyone else healthy enough to receive the vaccine.
Here’s a look at local resources for Santa Clarita residents seeking the flu vaccine at retail pharmacies (bear in mind the supply figures could change for a particular location, which is why the location’s phone number is also included. The numbers and estimates are accurate as of Wednesday afternoon, per store officials) If someone has a questions about whether they are healthy enough for a flu vaccine shot, they should contact their primary health care physician):
Costco
18649 Via Princessa, 661-250-2845
Both the “general population” dose and the “seniors” dose are in stock
CVS locations
19424 Soledad Canyon Road, 661-251-5444
Out of “general population” dose; very low supply of “seniors” dose
26861 Sierra Highway, 661-251-7346
Out of both types of vaccine
26550 Bouquet Canyon Road , 661-297-1968
Out of both types of vaccine
19105 Golden Valley Road (in Target) 661-977-5155
Running low on supply for regular dose; plenty for seniors
24425 Magic Mountain Parkway (in Target), 661-254-7234
Running low on the general population dose; there’s about 30 of the seniors dose
25880 McBean Parkway, 661-254-3766
Out of both types of vaccine
24840 Orchard Village Road, 661-222-7881
“Seniors” dose only
Newhall Pharmacy
24237 Main St., 661-799-7017
Out of both types of vaccine
Ralphs Pharmacy
27760 Mcbean Parkway, 661-263-6480
Both the “general population” dose and the “seniors” dose are in stock
Rite Aid locations
23335 Lyons Ave., 661-259-5950
Both the “general population” dose and the “seniors” dose are in stock
16642 Soledad Canyon Road, 661-252-5388
Unable to reach pharmacist; however, phone line offers flu vaccine
Sams Club
26468 Carl Boyer Drive, 661-222-7568
Out of “general population” dose; seniors dose in stock
Saugus Drugs
27641 Bouquet Canyon Road, 661-296-3980
Unable to reach pharmacist
Sav-on Pharmacy (in Albertsons)
23850 Copper Hill Drive, 661-775-3944
Out of both types of vaccine
Total Care Pharmacy
19409 Soledad Canyon Road, 250-3800
General population dose in stock; out of seniors dose
Valencia Pharmacy
25050 Peachland Ave., 661-255-7910
Out of both types of vaccine
Walgreens locations
26825 Bouquet Canyon Road, 661-296-8572
Both the general population dose and the seniors dose are in stock
28460 Haskell Canyon Road, 661-513-9240
Both the general population dose and the seniors dose are in stock
23925 Newhall Ranch Road, 661-255-7551
Both the general population dose and the seniors dose are in stock
27983 Sloan Canyon Road, Castaic 661-775-0840
The general population dose is in stock; there’s a limited supply for the seniors dose
19266 Soledad Canyon Road, 661-251-9433
The general population dose is in stock; there’s none of the vaccine for seniors
24790 Valley Street, 661-670-2020
“Pretty good supply” of the general population dose; none left for seniors
Walmart
26471 Carl Boyer Drive, 661-259-0863
Very limited supply of the general population dose; limited supply of senior dose
25450 The Old Road, 661-253-2357
Both the general population dose and the seniors dose are in stock
27931 Kelly Johnson Parkway, 661-294-0018
Both the general population dose and the seniors dose are in stock
