The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement that the flu mist spray, an alternative to the traditional flu shot in years past, is not as effective this year.

“The flu mist spray is not being offered this year. The CDC has determined that it is ineffective and currently the only means of protecting yourself from the flu would be the flu vaccine or shot,” school nurse Emily Mikeska said. “If I were to recommend a route I would probably choose the vaccine. In the past even the flu mist was actually a live virus that was being given so there was some questions about that, but the vaccine can be quite effective.”

The unavailability of the flu spray has the CDC concerned that people may not get vaccinated this year, but Mikeska says now is the time to do just that.

“The shot is more effective in that it covers the different strings of flu that are out there. They study the different strings of flu that are going across the country and it can certainly, because it’s injected into your body, it gets into your system better,” Mikeska said. “Now is really a great time to get it, right before the holiday season and when everybody starts traveling. That seem to be when it starts to pop up and we start seeing increases in the virus. So I would encourage everybody to start getting it now.”