Iowans who don’t get flu vaccines because they hate needles will have an alternative this year, but it’ll cost them more money not to get the shot. Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says a nasal spray flu vaccine will be available for the first time this fall.Thornton, a nurse consultant for immunization at state health, says the spray flu vaccine will cost around 46-dollars a dose, versus ten-dollars a dose for the shot. She says the spray vaccine is easy to administer.The spray containers are stored in the freezer. Patients thaw them in their hands then squirt a dose into each nostril. Thornton says the spray vaccine is only approved for healthy people between the ages of five and 49. Whether you go with the new spray or the traditional shot, she says Iowans -should- get themselves innoculated against influenza. Late September/early October is a good time for high-risk people to get their flu vaccines, as she says it takes a few weeks for the drug to take effect and the peak season for catching the flu runs around December and January.
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