Local Pharmacists Gear Up For Possible Flu Outbreak

Health officials in Maryland are at a large conference hall in Rockville, briefing several hundred pharmacists how to stay healthy during a swine flu outbreak.

As you might imagine, the automatic hand soap dispenser here is in heavy use. Hand washing can be one of the best defenses against the flu for pharmacists, since interacting with sick people is a huge part of their workdays.

David Posner, an independent pharmacist in Bethesda, puts hand sanitizer on his hands 20 times a day. He says the staffers in his office are bearing down for a possible outbreak. "They're just waiting for it to happen," he says. "Whether it will happen or not, we don't know."

Pharmacists at the conference discussed how to vaccinate their employees and whether it's possible to deliver medication directly to flu sufferers.

David Schultz reports...