Skip the co-pay and get a flu shot at the airport before your next flight

Winter's coming and with it, the flu. Like turning the clocks back and unfolding your sweaters, getting a flu shot is an annual ritual that, quite frankly, can be a pain in the butt. Happily, this year a slew of airport clinics are equipped to provide passengers with shots containing this year's anti-flu formulation so that if you're traveling at all for the next few months, you won't have to waste time or money scheduling an appointment with your doctor.

Included in the list are some of America's busiest, such as Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, Chicago's O'Hare, New York City's JFK, and LAX. The shots often cost $25 to $35, which is in the same ballpark as many co-payments for a visit to a doctor with health insurance. Except in this case, you don't waste time. You're filling time you're already wasting. And the jab-averse can easily go grab a cocktail right before rolling up their sleeve, something doctors might frown upon.

In some cases, your health coverage may cover the expense. Some airports are even doing it for free, including San Diego's Lindbergh and Phoenix's Sky Harbor. Here's a handy list of which airports are giving out shots, along with phone numbers and directions.

No matter whether you intend to get a flu shot (some people hate the idea), you have to applaud anything that removes annoying loopholes in our regular lives, such as waiting hours for a flight, and replaces them with opportunities for industriousness. Travelers waste far too much time in the airport twiddling their thumbs and staring at the irritating babbling heads on CNN. Why not get needled by something that can actually be good for your health instead?