When asking Bakersfield residents if they planned to get the flu vaccine this year, the community seemed split.
"I've heard too much much controversial stuff about it, and so it just kind of makes me not want to get it thinking about what it does, and what it doesn't do," said local, Mary Rhine, who says she won't be getting the vaccine this year.
However, local Donte Stancil seems to disagree and says he gets vaccinated each year.
"Anyway you can help that it doesn't spread...and that's one of the reasons I like to get it because I don't want to spread it. I know it's one of those things that's very contagious, so since it's that, I like to do that just for that fact," said Stancil.
The Center for Disease Control and local doctors seem to side with Stancil.
The CDC believe it's crucial that everyone over 6 months of age gets vaccinated.
And for those too young for a flu shot, it's recommend that everyone around the infant is protected.
"For the infants that are under 6 months of age that are too little to get vaccinated, to have their family vaccinated. Everyone, anyone that's around an infant," said Melissa Vega, the Program Coordinator for the Immunization Department at San Joaquin Community Hospital.
Another common misconception is that people in certain age brackets are more at-risk.
"With H1N1, we know that anybody can get sick. You used to think the very young or the very old, but H1N1 has taught us that even the healthiest can get sick," said Dr. Fernando Fan, a Pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente.
