Where to find the flu vaccine in the Santa Clarita Valley

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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

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