Flu shots available at several Annandale locations

Know anyone with the flu yet this fall? Get yourself a flu shot before it’s too late. In a recent online discussion, Dr. Peter Troell of the Fairfax County Health Department recommends everyone over six months old get the flu vaccine “as soon as possible, before influenza starts spreading through the community.”  

Fairfax County Health Clinics offer flu shots for $25 if you don’t have health insurance. The one closest to Annandale is at 6245 Leesburg Pike, Suite 500, in Falls Church (across the street from the Seven Corners Shopping Center). The walk-in clinic is open 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Tuesday, and 7:30 a.m.-12 p.m. on Friday. You don’t need an appointment, but it’s probably a good idea to call first (703/534-8343).

You can also get a flu shot at several stores in Annandale for $30:

You don’t need an appointment to get a flu shot at the Annandale CVS (7205 Little River Turnpike at the Backlick Road intersection) but you can schedule one online. You can also make an appointment online for the Minute Clinic at the CVS. Nurse practitioners administer flu shots at the Minute Clinic, while pharmacists give them at the CVS pharmacy.

The pharmacy at Giant, 7137 Columbia Pike, offers flu shots, but only when the pharmacist authorized to give them is available, either 9 a.m.-9 p.m. or 5-9 p.m. depending on her schedule, so you need to call ahead (703/256-2773).

The pharmacy at Safeway, 7414 Little River Turnpike, offers walk-in flu shots 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. [I got one here Monday evening; it took about 10 minutes, and there was no charge under my Aetna policy – and no after-effects.] Safeway also has high-dose flu shots for people 65 and older. Those vaccines are $57, but should be covered by Medicare.