Doctors have a message for vaccine-weary Americans: Don’t skip your flu shot this fall. And for the first time, seniors are urged to get a special extra strength kind. There’s no way to predict how bad this flu season will be, but Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says Australia just emerging from a nasty flu season could be an indicator. “That is a likely indicator to what we could experience here in the United States,” Mueller told WFDL news. “…depending on what strains they’re seeing in that area also determines what strains are located in the vaccine that will be available (here) this flu season.” In the U.S., annual flu vaccinations are recommended starting with six month olds. But Mueller says because seniors don’t respond as well, the U.S. now recommends they get one of three types made with higher doses or an immune-boosting ingredient. Meanwhile, the companies that make the two most widely used COVID-19 vaccines now are testing flu shots made with the same technology.
