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ST. LOUIS, Mo. –

Health officials say the St. Louis area is heading into the park part of flu season this year.

About 15 to 16 people arrive every day at SSM Health hospitals in St. Louis city and county and test positive for the flu virus.

The Mercy hospital system says it has treated more than 400 patients for the flu in the past six weeks at its hospital in the St. Louis area. The flu season is peaking later this year than last, but one difference is fewer people are being treated for the flu in the hospital than previous years.

“It’s always better to be vaccinated than not vaccinate at all,” said Patti Kelly, RN chief nursing officer at SSM Health
St. Louis University hospital.

Symptoms of the flu are a cough, body aches, and a fever. To stop the spread make sure to wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, and to cough into your sleeve, and if the cough is persistent, you might want to wear a medical mask. Medical officials say it’s not too late to get a flu shot, although they warn that the vaccine does not work for everyone.