Walgreens Flu Shot Gift Card is an Extra Sharp Holiday Tip

What can holiday gift givers pick for the person who has everything?

Why not a free flu shot, so that person cannot catch influenza this year?

Mega-pharmacy retailer Walgreens is offering flu shot gift cards in Walgreens stores and online. So far, Walgreens (based in Deerfield, Illinois, but with 7,500-plus store locations nationwide), seems to be the only purveyor of influenza prevention inoculation gift cards.

The company currently boasts more than 24,000 certified immunizers (primarily licensed Walgreens pharmacists), according to a recent Walgreens statement.

"The flu shot gift card is a thoughtful way to make it even easier for them to get a flu shot at Walgreens," said Kermit R. Crawford, Walgreens executive vice president of pharmacy. "While millions of Americans are diligent about getting a flu shot every year, gift cards may also help those who might not otherwise take the initiative to get a flu shot. With these gift cards, you can help protect those closest to you."

Is a flu shot gift card a gift of love?

After the initial sting, a flu shot is really no big deal, except as a means of preventing influenza infection and perhaps the dreaded H1N1.

In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control makes a clear point with this online statement: "The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year."

Perhaps flu shot gift cards are thoughtful holiday gifts, after all. Still, how odd might it seem to present a professor or postal carrier with a prick, to give an employee an inoculation, to proffer a student a stab or to give a friend a flu shot?

And which is the greater gift - to offer flu shots to a loved one or to actually have a flu shot on one's own, so as not to share influenza infection at all?

How much do Walgreens flu shot gift cards cost?

For the 2010 holiday season, Walgreens is selling flu shot gift cards for $29.99, the price of a single immunization. Certain restrictions may apply, particularly for recipients under 18 years of age, who may require parental permission to have the flu shots.

The 2010 flu shot is designed to protect against the H1N1 virus, the influenza A H3N2 virus and an influenza B virus.

Who should have flu shots?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends flu shots for everyone who is six months of age or older.

Certain groups, of course, face a higher statistical risk of complications from contracting the flu and may be even more highly motivated to receive flu shots. These include children from six months to five years of age, adults 50 years and older, pregnant women, patients with chronic medical conditions, health care workers, day care providers and nursing home residents and employees.

In 2009, Walgreens immunized more than seven million people against the flu and received a special immunization excellence award from the National Influenza Vaccine Summit, jointly sponsored by the American Medical Association and the CDC.

This year, Walgreens hopes to give many more flu shots than ever before, and the holiday gift cards may be a start. Will shoppers get the point, or is this merely a stab in the dark, from a marketing standpoint? Who knows?

Maybe holiday gift givers will give it a shot.