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IU Health pharmacist helping to make flu vaccines available

Posted at 5:23 PM, Oct 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-22 18:52:12-04

INDIANAPOLIS — An IU Health pharmacist is helping to make flu vaccines more available to help more Hoosiers.

Heidi Barnett is bringing thousands of flu shots to people at work, for free.

Over the next few weeks, Barnett says she will give more 4,000 flu shots to people while they are at work.

IU Health has partnered with APEX Population Health Group to help administer the vaccines.

"Many people get sick and miss work for at least a week or extended period of time," Barnett said. "Some people are hospitalized. And some people die from it."

Barnett plans to attend more than 100 clinics and has already been to Bloomington, Evansville, Lafayette, Indianapolis, Westfield, and Fishers.

On Tuesday, Barnett was was at Indianapolis Public School's Carol Wilde School and gave flu shots to the teachers and administrators.

For people like Amanda Faulkner, principal of Carol Wilde School, says the free flu shot is very helpful.

"And it was very exciting because I don't use IPS's insurance so to know that they were able to give me a flu shot as long as I just had insurance was very convenient," Wilde said.

An estimated 79,000 people died from the flu during the 2017-2018 season, according to data from the Center for Disease Control.

On Thursday, the Marion County Health Department is hosing flu shot clinics.

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The clinics will be at the following locations:

Cathedral Kitchen
1350 N. Pennsylvania Street
9-11 a.m.

Englewood Christian Church
57 N. Rural Street
4-6 p.m.