Nova Scotia flu shots free and ready now

Flu shots are now available from Nova Scotiapharmacies, doctors, nurses, workplaces and clinicsand health officials suggest you get your vaccination now.

The shot is for the seasonal flu, not the otherkind of "bird flu" that's currently afflicting workplaces.

"Last year, 40 per cent of Nova Scotians got aflushot, and we hope to see more this year," Dr. Frank Atherton, Nova Scotia's deputy chief medical officer of health, said in a release on Wednesday.

The province is providing the quadrivalent vaccine, which contains two influenza A strains and two influenza B strains.

Atherton flagsseveral higher risk groups that are strongly recommended to get the shot:

• seniors
• children aged six months to five years
• aboriginal people
• pregnant women
• people with chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, asthma, and diabetes
• people who live with, or care for, people in high-risk groups

Atherton also remindspeople to regularly wash their hands and cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing.

Flusymptoms often include a sudden high fever, headache, general aches and pains, fatigue and weakness, a runny, stuffy nose, sneezing and sore throat. It can lead to more severe illness such as pneumonia or even death.

The government posted more information online.