ALEXANDRA Hills and Redland Bay pharmacies will give $2 from every $20 flu jab this year to help poor kids in India.
Charity organisation Free2Be will use the funds to give impoverished children access to improved healthcare, education and vaccinations against potentially life-threatening diseases like measles, hepatitis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio.
Before vaccinations became widespread, children routinely died from these diseases, lost limbs or suffered brain damage. Scientists consider that only clean water – also considered a basic human right – performs better.
Alexandra Hills Discount Drug Store will have a flu vaccination clinic on Wednesday, April 5 from 9am to 5pm and Redland Bay Discount Drug Store will run one every Tuesday from 1pm to 5pm during the flu season.
Discount Drug Stores national pharmaceuticals manager Stephenie Shea said the program would play a role in India which had a devastating history of child labour and child trafficking.
“Now in our third year of running flu vaccination clinics and sixth year teaming up with Free2Be, we’ve seen the real impact we’ve made and will continue to make in the lives of those who are less fortunate than us,’’ she said.
“Last year the community participation program raised over $22,000 to help protect against life-threatening diseases and vulnerabilities such as child marriage and exploitation.’’
Vaccinations were also an important measure in reducing the number of hospitalisations and complications that occured annually in Australia from influenza.
“Up to 20 per cent of the Australian population are infected with influenza every year, with elderly parents, young children and pregnant women at greatest risk,’’ she said.
Special patient groups are eligible to receive the vaccination subsidised under the federal government-funded National Immunisation Program.
The latest vaccination will arm people against four strains of influenza during the coming winter flu season.
