ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County’s Health Department has released additional information regarding the cost of flu shots for those without insurance.

The Health Department began giving out flu shots Sept. 1. They are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 300 Mercer Mill Road in Elizabethtown.

Those who have insurance usually do not have to pay for the flu shot, depending on the policy. The cost structure for those without insurance is as follows, and does not include a $25 administrative fee for each vaccine:

• Age 65-and-up, high does, $70.

• Age 50-64, high does, $70.

• Regular flu vaccine, $45.

• Preservative free, $45.

The Health Department, a release says, recommends everyone over the age of 6 months to receive a flu shot.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says September and October are the best times to get flu shots. Earlier would have jeopardized protection later in the flu season. Vaccinations, the CDC says, are recommended as long as viruses are circulating, including into January or later.

A flu vaccine does not protect against COVID-19, the CDC says. As for which illness is more dangerous, the CDC says, “Flu and COVID-19 can both result in serious illness, including illness resulting in hospitalization or death. While there is still much to learn about COVID-19, at this time, it does seem as if COVID-19 is more deadly than seasonal influenza; however, it is too early to draw any conclusions from the current data. This may change as we learn more about the number of people who are infected who have mild illnesses.”

People can have both the flu and the coronavirus at the same time, the CDC says. It has developed a test that will check for A and B type seasonal flu viruses, and SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The flu and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses but are caused by different viruses, the CDC says. Some of the symptoms are similar, and it may be hard to tell the difference; testing can help confirm a diagnosis. In information learned thus far, the significant differences are that “flu viruses can cause mild to severe illness, including common signs and symptoms.” Different signs of COVID-19 “may include change in or loss of taste or smell.”

The signs and symptoms common to both, the CDC says, are “fever or feeling feverish/chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle pain or body aches, headache, and some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.”

If a person has COVID-19, it could take longer to develop symptoms than if they have the flu. Typically for the flu, symptoms develop one to four days after infection; COVID-19 is five days, though it could be as early as two and late as 14.

Both are contagious; COVID-19 renders a person contagious for a longer period of time, up to 10 days after testing positive. A person with the flu is contagious for about seven days.

The spread of the flu and coroanvirus is similar, though COVID-19 is more contagious among certain populations and age groups than the flu, the CDC says.

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.