STAYING INFORMED AND SAFE DURING FLU SEASON
Addressing common concerns and misconceptions about the flu vaccine
Flu season is right around the corner! This time of year brings a certain buzz around getting a flu shot. It’s common to hear things like, “I got the flu shot and immediately got the flu!” or “I didn’t feel great after getting my flu shot, so I’ll skip it this year.”
But the best way to avoid the flu is by getting a flu shot, and the CDC recommends annual flu vaccination for everyone 6 months old through adulthood.
Here, we address a few common concerns and misconceptions that are regularly voiced each flu season and provide helpful insight into what you can do to keep you and your family safe.
Getting the flu vaccine will give me the flu.
The virus in the flu vaccine is inactive, which means you cannot get the flu from the flu shot. You may experience body aches, which stem from your body’s immune response, and show your body is responding to the vaccine.
It’s also possible you could have caught the flu prior to receiving the flu shot, which means you would not have been protected from the flu at that time.
“Like any vaccination, once you get the vaccine, it takes about two weeks for your immune system to rev up and develop a protective response,” said Nicole Iovine, M.D., Ph.D., UF Health Shands epidemiologist in chief. “So, if you’re exposed to the flu in that two-week period before you’ve gotten a protective response, you might actually end up coming down with the flu.”
Do I really need to get the flu vaccine this year if I got it last year?
It is very important that you get the flu vaccine every year, even if you got it the year before. Your body’s immune response to a flu vaccine declines over time, meaning yearly vaccination is imperative to protecting yourself from the flu. The flu virus is constantly changing, requiring the vaccination strains to be reviewed and updated in order to keep up with the ever-changing virus.
“The influenza vaccine is constantly changing,” said Michele N. Lossius, M.D., UF Health Shands chief quality officer. “While the vaccine is created each year with a best estimate as to what will be the most common viruses that year, it’s not always a perfect match. However, each year that you receive the vaccine, you do add on to the protection you already have, so it’s important that we keep getting the vaccine each year.”
The side effects from receiving the flu vaccine are not worth it and I would rather risk getting the flu.
The flu is highly contagious. When you get the flu, you may become a carrier without knowing it for a few days, meaning you may unknowingly spread the virus and put others at risk.
“Getting the flu vaccine really makes a huge difference,” Iovine said. “It can prevent you from getting the flu, make it less severe, keep you out of the hospital and reduce your chance of dying from the flu.”
With the flu, symptoms can include fever, headaches, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, extreme body tiredness and body aches. All of these combined can disrupt your work and personal life for up to two weeks. Flu vaccinations can help reduce or prevent these symptoms, as well as flu-related hospitalizations.
I’ve never had the flu and flu vaccines don’t always work, so why should I bother getting vaccinated?
Again, getting the flu vaccine really makes a difference. Most importantly, it can keep you out of the hospital and it reduces your chance of getting seriously ill or dying from the flu.
“Any vaccine against the flu is better than no vaccine against the flu,” said Kathleen Ryan, M.D., UF College of Medicine department of pediatrics chief of infectious diseases. “Everybody, 6 months and older, every year, regardless of being healthy or not, should get the flu vaccine.”
At UF Health, we’re committed to keeping our community healthy and safe.
“It is important for the health care givers here at UF Health and our community to be as healthy as possible. An aspect of health is preventive medicine, and I consider immunizations to be part of the arsenal of prevention,” Lossius said.
We appreciate everyone’s help in sharing information — and reducing any misinformation — about flu this season. Please visit Flu Central on the Bridge intranet portal to learn more about flu prevention and our vaccination policies for this upcoming flu season.
Healthy habits keep the flu at bay
While the best prevention from the flu is getting vaccinated, there are healthy habits to help stop the spread of germs and prevent the flu from catching you!
Cover your mouth and nose.
- When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
Clean your hands.
- Regularly washing your hands will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
- Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.
Practice other good health habits.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious food.
* Healthy habits brought to you by the CDC.
