Last year, Uber launched UberHEALTH to deliver on-demand wellness pack and optional flu shots. For 2016, it’s doing it again, with Uber for Health, which similarly offers on on-demand “flu-fighting” care pack when you request one in-app, with optional free flu shots for up to 5 people at your location. And this time around, the entire thing is free.
With last year’s program, Uber was charging $10 for the flu care package and offering the shots free, but now both are available without charge. The option to request the care pack and the optional flu vaccinations are available via the “Health” option that will appear in the Uber app on Tuesday October 25, between 11 AM and 3 PM in 17 cities across the U.S.
Uber notes in a blog post that getting a flu shot isn’t just about your own health – each person who gets one reduces the risk of others catching the flu by between 50 and 60 percent, since there’s fewer transmission vectors walking around.
The free flu shots will be administered by registered nurses arranged through partner Passport Health, and as you’d expect the nurse and vaccine receiver are the only people involved who have access to the consent forms and related paperwork. Last year, the only reason people might have had not to participate was a cost associated with delivery of the wellness pack, while flu shots were available entirely free at designated locations. This year, since the whole thing is free, there’s absolutely no reason not to take advantage if you happen to live in a city listed below where Uber for Health is available.
Participating Cities/States: Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD; Washington DC; Syracuse, NY; Albany, NY; Rhode Island; Boston, MA; Connecticut; Portland, ME; Delaware; New Hampshire; Houston, TX; Tallahassee, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH.