Wal-Mart To Offer Free Immunizations

For Kids - Some Docs Skeptical

Fox News.com

8-1-1

 

If your preschooler does not want to go back-to-school shopping at Wal-Mart,

he or she is probably just afraid of the needles.

 

The retailer is teaming with local health officials in 16 states to give

free immunizations in Wal-Mart parking lots. Infants, toddlers and

preschoolers with records of previous immunizations are eligible for the

shots, which will be administered by the health officials.

 

Wal-Mart sees the program as a way to reach children who might otherwise go

without immunization. As many as one in five American children are not

properly immunized. Still, many pediatricians worry about the effects of

such a program.

 

"If they separate the immunization process from the rest of the medical care

that children need, they are doing a disservice," Irwin Redlener, a

pediatrician and president of the national Children's Health Fund, said.

 

Jane Siegel, a pediatrician at the Children's Medical Center of Dallas,

echoed the importance of professional health care.

 

"When we are not in an active outbreak, we like to really emphasize every

child having a medical home," Siegel said.

 

Wal-Mart's first foray into immunizations began earlier this year in

Arkansas, where more than 300 children were given shots at 20 locations

between April and June, according to Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk.

 

"It's a little bit better than nothing," Redlener conceded.

 

One industry analyst saw the opportunity as a chance to protect both the

health of children and the corporate health of Wal-Mart.

 

"I think it makes sense because you want to get as many people in your

aisles as possible, and convenience is so critical to it," said Bob

Buchanan, a Wal-Mart analyst with A.G. Edwards in St. Louis. "This would be

a good move, not only from Wal-Mart's point of view, but also from a public

health standpoint."

 

Some stores in Florida and Illinois offered free immunizations last week.

Select Wal-Marts in California, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana,

Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas,

Illinois and Utah plan to offer the program during the next month.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.