How Much Flu Activity is in Your Community? Walgreens Flu Index™ Ranks Top Markets and States Each Week

Index adds new interactive features providing actionable, hyper-local
data for media, health officials and others

DEERFIELD, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The one constant that accompanies every flu season is unpredictability,
which is why tools and resources that can track and measure influenza
activity can be so critical in helping to keep communities healthy. The
Walgreens Flu Index™ was a go-to resource for health department
officials, media and others last season, and today Walgreens launched
its first weekly Index for the 2015-’16 season – a greatly enhanced,
interactive online portal featuring hyper-local data, search
capabilities and more.

The Flu Index ranks the top markets and states across the U.S. where flu
activity is most prevalent each week, and now also features the ability
to search by location. The new functionality was developed to provide
state- and market-specific information for anyone, anywhere, anytime, to
drive consumer awareness and prevention, and to help every community
better understand when flu cases may be escalating.

To view this week’s Walgreens Flu Index, maps and other online features,
click here.

“With the ability to provide actionable information in a quick and
timely manner, and leveraging prescription data that can be a telling
indicator of activity, we’re empowering everyone to be informed about
flu in their community,” said Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of
pharmacy and retail operations. “The Flu Index has become a powerful and
credible tool that has garnered national attention, while also helping
health officials at the most local level to keep their communities
healthy throughout the season.”

The Walgreens Flu Index is compiled using the drugstore chain’s weekly
retail prescription data for antiviral medications used to treat
influenza across Walgreens locations nationwide. The Index lists the top
markets and states for flu activity, as well as those experiencing the
greatest gains on a week-over-week basis.

Data for the Walgreens Flu Index is analyzed at state and geographic
market levels to measure absolute impact and incremental change of
antiviral medications on a per store average basis, and does not include
markets in which Walgreens has fewer than 10 retail locations.

The Index is not intended to illustrate levels or severity of flu
activity, but rather, based on this methodology, to show which
populations are experiencing the highest incidences of influenza within
the U.S. each week.

For more on the Walgreens Flu Index visit http://arcg.is/1HA3vGp.

About Walgreens

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com),
the nation’s largest drugstore chain, is included in the Retail Pharmacy
USA Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), the first
global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. More than 8
million customers interact with Walgreens each day in communities across
America, using the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer
goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and
wellness services and advice. Walgreens operates 8,173 drugstores with a
presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens digital business includes Walgreens.com,
drugstore.com, Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com. Walgreens
also manages more than 400 Healthcare Clinic and provider practice
locations around the country.

Contacts

Walgreens
Jim Cohn, (847) 315-2950
http://news.walgreens.com
@WalgreensNews
facebook.com/Walgreens