There’s never been a good excuse not to get a flu jab, and this year there’s even less justification for overlooking this vital preventative measure. Anyone with a smartphone can now call upon taxi-ordering service Uber to deliver a vaccine-wielding nurse direct to their door. Registered nurses will be provided by travel clinic company Passport Health between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday, November 19 in around 35 different cities across the U.S.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anyone over the age of six months should get an annual vaccination, “with rare exception.” This is because flu viruses constantly change, and the body’s immune response from each vaccination declines over time, so it’s necessary to top up each year to stay protected. Failing to do so can be dangerous, with official figures showing that influenza can kill anywhere from 3,000 to 49,000 people in the U.S. each year.
Fortunately, no one need become one of these statistics, with standard vaccines – or trivalent shots – protecting against three different types of flu virus. These include two influenza A viruses (H1N1 and H3N2) and one form of influenza B.
Uber first offered its vaccine delivery service last winter, providing around 2,000 shots in four major cities. Following on from that success, the project has been hugely expanded for the beginning of the new flu season, with hundreds of nurses taking part and more than 10,000 shots being made available.
Customers will be charged $10 (£6.50) for each call-out. This price only partially covers the cost of the medication, with the rest being paid for by Uber, Passport Health and a public health data company called Epidemico. Furthermore, each nurse will be able to deliver up to ten shots per call-out, so a whole year of immunity could cost as little as $1 (65p) per person.
Here’s a list of the cities where the service will be available:
Northeast: Baltimore; Boston; Hartford, Conn.; Hoboken, N.J.; Jersey City, N.J.; New York; Philadelphia; Providence, R.I..; Washington, Worcester, Mass.
South: Atlanta; Charleston, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; Houston; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; Orlando; Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; Richmond; Tampa Bay, Fla.
Midwest: Columbus, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Detroit; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Milwaukee; Pittsburgh
West: Boise, Idaho; Los Angeles; Orange County, Calif.; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco, Seattle.
