Rite Aid alters pregnant women's flu shot rules

Pharmacy will no longer make them show a prescription

INTERACTIVE

Is it a cold, the swine flu — or something else?
If you're feeling crummy, check your symptoms with this quiz.

updated 1:32 p.m. ET Oct. 8, 2009

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The nation's third-largest drugstore chain is no longer making pregnant women show a prescription to get a flu shot.

Cheryl Slavinsky, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid, says the policy change is for both seasonal flu and swine flu shots.

Pregnant women have low vaccination rates, partly because many obstetricians don't vaccinate and some pharmacists have been wary of giving them shots. Public health officials are trying to change that. Pregnant women are on the priority list for regular winter flu and swine flu shots.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Rite Aid announced the change in policy Wednesday. Spokesmen for Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. say their drugstores don't treat pregnant women seeking a flu shot any differently than the general public.

Click for related content

Pregnant women struggle to find flu vaccine