The flu is back on both sides of the state line. KMBC 9 News talked to a local specialist about the health threat and the best way to protect your family.The time and pain of a flu shot can keep people from getting one, but the consequences of skipping it could be much worse. “It's the best way you can protect yourself from getting the flu,” said Dr. Gary Salzman, the director of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Truman Medical Center. Salzman treats some of the worst flu patients at the hospital and has seen firsthand how dangerous the virus can be. “We had flu deaths last year from people, and many of those people did not get the vaccine,” he said, “so it's a really simple thing that you can do.”So far this year, Jackson County has had 19 flu cases reported. The city of Kansas City said it has been seeing about three cases a week but didn’t have any official numbers yet. Johnson County, Kansas, has recorded 44 cases so far, although Kansas isn’t required to report flu numbers.“We usually start in October and then it usually peaks sometime in December through February,” Salzman said. He said the numbers for this year so far are typical for early in the season. He also wants to debunk a common misconception. “Some people think you know the flu vaccine causes the flu,” Salzman said. “That's absolutely a myth.” Salzman said the flu shot has been redesigned this year, and that there's a high dose version for people over 65. It has four times more antigen than a typical flu shot and is believed to be more effective in older people. At this point, Salzman is cautiously optimistic about the flu season. “I think that we're going to do a better job of protecting people from the flu this year than we did last year, but the bottom line is everyone needs to get a flu shot,” he said.Doctors recommend you get your flu shot by the end of October before peak flu season. For more information on flu statistics and resources, check out these links: Weekly Flu Map and Clinical Services.