Don’t Let These Myths Scare You of the Flu Shot
Flu shots work and are a smart way to reduce your chances of getting sick this winter. But this impression can arise if you listen to rumors. There are many myths about the flu shot, and it’s time to dispel the biggest of them.
Myth: the flu shot doesn’t work.
The flu vaccine isn’t perfect, but it’s still better to get one than not. In a good year, the flu vaccine is about 70 percent effective; if you’re unlucky, the rate may drop below.
Two years ago, the injection was only 23 percent effective . Last year, things went better, by about 60 percent . The exact frequency depends on which strains of influenza are circulating in your area, but in most years the effectiveness hovers around 50 percent .
Think of it this way: If someone coughs on you during flu season, wouldn’t you like to have a real chance to escape unharmed? Fifty percent is much better than zero. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sums it up : “Flu vaccination, even when efficacy is diminished, can prevent thousands of hospitalizations.”
Why are flu shots often ineffective? Other vaccines do better, with measles vaccine being 97 percent effective , for example, in children who receive both recommended doses. Here are a few reasons that make the flu shot unusual.
- This is not one flu. Flu viruses mutate a lot , so we need a new vaccine every year. People who get the flu shots must choose in the spring which strains to be vaccinated for this fall and winter, and if they guess wrong, the vaccine will be less effective. (This is what happened in 2014 when efficiency was 23 percent.)
- Some people do not respond well to the vaccine . Flu shots are less effective for children under 2 and adults over 65. Other factors and health conditions may affect your response.
Because efficacy varies so much, scientists, including the CDC, are monitoring which strains of influenza are circulating and how the vaccine is currently working against them. It may look like a flip flop when they change their recommendation, but in reality they just stay on top of the best information available.
For example, the nasal spray flu vaccine is not recommended this year. (A sad trombone for children, and indeed for anyone who hates needles .) Back in 2002-2005, the spray worked so well on children that it was recommended instead of an injection. But last year, the spray was only 3 percent effective, versus 63 percent for a shot. Thus, the recommendation is in line with what we currently know.
Myth: I don’t need a flu shot.
Depending on the year, 5 to 20 percent of people get the flu every year in the United States. The people most at risk of getting sick or dying from the flu are young children, the elderly, and people with underlying health problems. But healthy people are less likely to get seriously ill; they are not invincible.
Flu symptoms can include fever, cough, and sore throat , so they are similar to those of the common cold and other less serious illnesses. This means that many people think they have had the flu when in fact they had something else. Ask anyone with a confirmed case of the flu: The flu hits your ass with fatigue and pain that lasts a week or more.
And, not to get too painful, people do die from the flu. The number of deaths can range from 3,300 to 49,000 per year . For comparison, about 30 thousand people die in car accidents .
There is another important reason to get the flu shot, even if you are healthy. Every person affected by the flu is a springboard from which the virus can reach the elderly and sick. These people are most vulnerable to complications of the flu, such as pneumonia, and are most likely to die from the flu.
Myth: a flu shot can cause the flu.
This is a persistent myth and completely wrong. The needle-fed flu shot (the only one recommended this year) contains viruses that are either inactivated (“dead”) or shredded into pieces.
You have contracted the flu from live viruses. There are no live viruses in the flu shot.
The nasal spray did contain live viruses, but these were weakened versions that could not survive in the lungs. On rare occasions, they could cause a mild flu-like illness in humans, but they still could not cause a full-fledged flu .
I know that some people reading this will swear that they, or someone they know, once completely contracted the flu from a flu shot. But remember, we tend to mis-remember and misunderstand our own experiences . You may remember you got sick, believing it was the “flu,” and blame it on the flu shot you got. You could also get the flu and blame the vaccine for giving it to you instead of remembering that the vaccine is only partially effective.
If you get a flu shot and then get the real flu, here’s what could happen:
- Maybe the shot didn’t work this time . As we said above, this is not ideal.
- You may have very mild flu symptoms after the vaccination . It’s not common, but it happens – and it’s not real flu. Remember that the flu can be quite long and severe. A fever or cough caused by a flu shot will not last longer than a day .
- Maybe you weren’t vaccinated fast enough . You are not fully protected fortwo weeks after your vaccination, so in the meantime, you could get the flu.
In general, the side effects of a flu shot are minimal or absent for most people. If there is a reason why the shot might be dangerous for you, your doctor or the person who prescribes the shot can discuss it with you. For example, babies under six months of age and people with life-threatening allergies to vaccine ingredients should not be vaccinated. Recommended for almost everyone.
Myth: Now is not the right time.
September may seem too early for a flu shot as the disease is not circulating yet. But remember, if you wait to get vaccinated until everyone you know gets sick, you could get infected before the vaccine works.
Only a few people have to wait : especially people over 65. Elderly immunity wanes after three or four months, and the peak of the flu season may be as early as March . The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) says it is best to get vaccinated when possible ; You wouldn’t want to put it off and then forget to get it altogether. But if you’re over 65 and you know you can stick to a schedule, taking a photo in November would be ideal. Either way, consider asking for a high-dose vaccine formulated specifically for the elderly.
Others should be vaccinated as soon as convenient. However, if you forget and find that everyone around you will get sick in January, you should still get vaccinated. It will continue to protect you for the rest of the flu season.
However, keep in mind the two-week delay, if all around you are sick, you go to be vaccinated after they cough on you, you can get sick just because the prick was not in time to protect you. This is why earlier is better: you are less likely to get sick and less likely to fall prey to this particular myth.