Doctors, clinics, pharmacies and local health centers are now offering flu shots to anyone who wants one, though they say not everybody should get one. Public-health department spokesman Kevin Teale says there should be plenty of the vaccine available this year. Nationwide there should be about 70-Million doses of the flu vaccine available, some ten-Million more than we had last year and close to the amount considered adequate for a normal flu season. The first three weeks it was available, the vaccine was targeted to “high-risk” patients. Now the vaccine’s being made available to anybody, public health leaders urge everyone to get it. In particular, Teale says people who are close to high-risk patients — who live with them, care for them, or are age fifty to 64, should be sure and get in to get their flu shot this year. But there are some who should not go out and get the shot.He says there’s a small group of people who should consider not getting the injected form of the vaccine, since the kind used in traditional flu shots has been manufactured using chicken eggs — and anyone allergic to eggs should avoid it. Anybody who’s had a severe reaction to the vaccine in the past should skip it also. And it can’t be given to children less than 6 months old. There are alternatives for people concerned about the risk of the disease who can’t get the shots. A form taken as a nasal spray brand-named “Flu-Mist” is on the market now. It’s a different formulation, and though you have to be healthy to take it, people who can’t get the shots may tolerate this and should consider it. Teale says people should always consult with a doctor about the best way to fend off disease
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