Flu Shots in Store:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure--and now you can buy both at a nearby shopping center.

The flu season starts next month, and health officials worry that the three anticipated strains--A/Texas/36/91, A/Beijing/32/92 and B/Panama45/90--will be especially nasty. Their arrival will prompt a run on pharmacies for compounds that promise relief from the aches and pains.

But in addition to over-the-counter medicines, some local grocery stores and drug stores are offering a new twist: flu shots administered by members of the Visiting Nurses Assn. of Orange County.

“This is our very first year doing this,” VNA Vice President Wendy Mason said. Shots also will be available at some stores in the Los Angeles area. Nationwide, the association hopes to inoculate about 800,000 Americans.

The association charges $10 per shot, which is “about the same as the co-payment” demanded by many health maintenance organizations, Mason said. The nurses hope to administer as many as 10,000 shots in Orange County, and nationwide to inoculate about 800,000 people.

The project is one that gets the association, which was founded by Florence Nightingale, “out in front of the public,” Mason said. “Our purpose is community-based health care, and this is out in the community.”

VNA members are on duty at Albertson’s Inc., Smith’s Food & Drug Centers and Savon Drug through Nov. 19. For locations and times, call (800) 414-SHOT.

--Compiled by Greg Johnson Times staff writer