Swine Flu Warning May Help Walgreen, CVS

With swine flu infections waning and plenty of vaccine available, government officials are encouraging everyone to go out and get their shots.

If the added nudging is at all successful, it could help Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. The nation's two largest pharmacy chains are hoping the shots will bring more customers into their stores.

The companies say they've got the vaccines. Now they just need the patients. With the virus declining, the public attention is falling off too. That may stifle demand, which is why the government is trying to drum up some interest.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned today that the flu activity could just be just a short-term lull. Swine flu could come back early next year.

Walgreen has sold more than 200,000 swine flu shots, a small number compared with the more than 5 million seasonal flu vaccines administered at the company's drug stores and health clinics. We'll get a better sense of how the overall flu season is treating Walgreen's bottom line when the company reports its first-quarter earnings Monday.

CVS hasn't provided specifics about its sales or volume of flu shots and won't until it reports quarterly earnings in February. "It's significantly more than this time last year," spokesman Mike DeAngelis says.