By Greg Halbleib
If you were hoping to fight the flu without a needle, think again.
Sue Grant from the McLean County Health Department said the Centers for Disease Control has discouraged use of the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine.
“We’re not using it at the health department because we follow the CDC guidelines, and they did many, many studies and discovered it wasn’t as effective as it should have been,” Grant told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin about the nasal spray flu vaccine. “Typically we used (the spray) on children, although the vaccine was for anyone ages 2 to 49 if they were healthy, but if they had any kind of respiratory illness they couldn’t have the nasal spray anyway. Just roll up a sleeve and get a shot.”
The department says it’s best to get a flu shot early to give your body time to develop resistance. Under most insurance plans and Obamacare, the cost of the shot is completely covered.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at greg@wjbc.com.
