‘Get a Shot. Give a Shot.’ Program @Walgreens Delivers Life-Saving Value

Shot@Life offers measles and polio vaccines to children in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, and Tanzania 
young child on a bike
(Precision Vaccinations News)

‘Walgreens announced ‘it hopes to provide 50 million additional vaccines by 2023 through the ‘Get a Shot. Give a Shot.’ program.

During 2019-2020, Walgreens said in a press release published on November 18, 2019, ‘it will donate $0.23 for every immunization administered up to a maximum of $2.6 million dollars to the UN Foundation.’

Funds raised from the ‘Get a Shot. Give a Shot.’ program through January 31, 2020, enables Walgreens to donate the value of each vaccine delivered to the UN Foundation.

Through various partnerships, Shot@Life has provided measles and polio vaccines to children in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, and Tanzania over the past 7 years. 

Kathy Calvin, president, and CEO of the UN Foundation said, “When businesses like Walgreens mobilize to support United Nations causes, change happens. The UN Foundation is committed to continuing our work together to protect children everywhere.”

The UN Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign educates, connects, and empowers individuals to champion global vaccines as one of the most effective ways to save the lives of children around the world. 

The campaign rallies members of the public, members of Congress, businesses, and civil society partners to support and invest in the global childhood immunization programs of UNICEF, World Health Organization, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. 

Through public education, grassroots advocacy, and fundraising, Shot@Life strives to avert the 1.5 million annual vaccine-preventable child deaths. 

Additionally, Walgreens also announced a commitment to provide $5 million in free flu vaccinations by 2023 to help protect uninsured and underinsured people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico from influenza. 

This effort is a continuation of an existing 9-year program to partner with communities to provide free flu vaccinations. As of August 31, 2019, Walgreens customers have redeemed more than 1.6 million flu vouchers.

Unfortunately, about 20 percent of children around the world still lack access to the lifesaving vaccines that help keep children in the U.S. healthy, says Walgreens. 

In fact, one child dies every 20 seconds from a disease that could be prevented with a vaccine.

Recently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a total of 3 influenza-associated pediatric fatalities occurring during the 2019-2020 season.

During the 2017-2018 flu season, the CDC confirmed a total of 187 pediatric fatalities.

Flu vaccination is always the best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications, says the CDC. Most flu vaccines protect against 4 different influenza viruses for the 2019-2020 Northern Hemisphere season.

As always, vaccination decisions should be part of an ongoing discussion between a provider and patient.

Learn more about the impact of the program at Walgreens.com/GetaShot. Walgreens (walgreens.com), one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, is included in the Retail Pharmacy USA Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

The United Nations Foundation acts as a strategic partner to help the United Nations mobilize ideas, people, and resources to drive global progress and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Founded in 1998 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner, the UN Foundation works with philanthropic, corporate, and government partners to create communities and incubate initiatives that support UN priorities. Learn more at www.unfoundation.org.

Influenza vaccine news published by Precision Vaccinations. 

Our Trust Standards: Medical Advisory Committee

Share