The flu vaccine crunch is easing up a bit in Iowa. State Epidemiologist Patricia Quinlisk says the Health Department is expanding its priority list for the flu shots. She says they’ve found they have pockets of vaccine left and they don’t want it to go to waster. So, she says they’re expanding the priority list to include anyone age 50 and older and those who might have contact with someone in the high priority group. The vaccine had been restricted to anyone over the age of 65. Quinlisk says there may still be people in the original group that still haven’t gotten a shot. She says some of those people haven’t gotten a shot as they wanted to save it for other high-risk people. She says they shouldn’t do that, they should go and get the vaccine now. The Health Department announced the first confirmed case of the flu last week. Quinlisk says it has spread since then. She says they have two confirmed cases now and another one pending. She says all the cases are in children in eastern Iowa. She says this is the strain of the flu that hit kids hard last year, so the kids should get their shots. Shesays they also have plenty of flu mist available. Quinlisk says if you have any questions about getting a flu shot, you should check with your doctor.
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