Now through mid-May is the flu season. The first vaccinations have been given, using some of about 130-million doses of vaccine against Type A and Type B finfluenza that are available nationwide. The state Health Department says children older than six months should get the shots, or inhale the vaccine. So should people 65 and older and those with chronic conditions such as asthma.
Department spokesman Ryan Hobart says public health departments are always good suppliers of vaccine.
The flu can be deadly. Hobart says the latest flu mortality figtures he has are for 2011, when 12-hundred Missourians died of flu-related causes.
Although this is usually the start of the season that can last until mid-May, flu season usually peaks in January and February.