So far as the medical record issue where a doctor might notice an allergy, that can be ameliorated by having our medical records be a matter of our own private record, portable between those who provide us with different services of health care. A pharmacist is not so stupid that they would fail to notice that somebody is allergic to eggs on the records. They are just as likely to notice drug interactions, if not more so, as a doctor is. Why noting this sort of medical risk is any different, requiring years of specialised training instead of basic medical common sense is beyond my ability to comprehend.

As I said earlier, these are pharmacists, people with medical training, not Joe Blow at the corner that we are purchasing shots from. From what I can tell, hundreds of thousands of people do this every year around the country already. If there was going to be some great outbreak of risk and danger to people getting these shots beyond that already associated with a medically illiterate population, we would have heard of it by now.

At a recent convention held by the CDC, medical professionals present stressed their concern over the notion of dispensing vaccines at drug stores via pharmacists. If a nurse or nurse practitioner is present to do such, so be it. Good move. However, the notion of holding a 1-day course to train pharmacists in giving the shot is, to take Mr. Jugs' word, unsettling. A day-course is in no way a substitute for years of medical training.

FYI – Most doctors in private practice do not give shots – Registered Nurses do.

Who would you want to give you your flu shot – a trained and experienced Registered Nurse, or an untrained pharmacist?

And as far as the cost is concerned . . . How much is YOUR life worth?