Flu season is just around the corner, and the Centers for Disease Control recommends different vaccines for different age groups. People under the age of 49 without respiratory illnesses can use the nasal spray Flumist. There is also the quadrivalent vaccine which contains two strains of Flu A and two strains of Flu B.
Finally, a high dose vaccine is recommended for senior citizens.
Jennifer Volkerding, the assistant director of the Cape Girardeau Public Health Center, said vaccines are the best way to prevent getting the flu and the highly concentrated vaccine is better for older immune systems.
"Studies have indicated that as we age our immune systems don't react quite as well as when we were younger," she said.
Last year there were 582 confirmed cases of the flu in Cape Girardeau County. Vanessa Landers, the communicable disease coordinator at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, said many of those patients were between the ages of 15 and 64 years old.
People between the ages of 15 and 64 are more reluctant to get vaccinated than other age groups, she said.
"A lot of them don’t think they’re going to get the flu, so they pass on getting vaccinated," Landers said.
She said some people don't want to get vaccinated, or they don't take time out of their busy work schedule.
A doctor may suggest a pneumonia shot for people over the age of 65 to prevent upper respiratory issues, as well.
The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center will give vaccines at their flu clinics and they will visit schools. They accept Medicare and Medicaid.