If you have ever gotten sick from the flu, you know just how horrible it can be. From fever chills to feeling as if you have been hit by a truck, it isn’t an experience one ever wants to have. Luckily, you can reduce your chances of getting the flu by simply getting vaccinated. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation floating around about the flu shot, which often dissuades a number of people from getting it. To dispel some common myths about the flu shot, Dr. Denise Pate with Medical Offices of Manhattan gave SheKnows some insights to separate fact from fear-mongering fiction.
Myth: The flu is the same as having a bad cold.
The common cold can cause you to feel exhausted and run down. But the flu has all bad symptoms of a cold — sneezing, cough and sore throat — and will put you on bedrest. Plus, the complications that the flu brings, could send you to the hospital and in the worst case scenario it may also lead to death. In fact, since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that flu has resulted in between 140,000 and 960,000 hospitalizations yearly.
Myth: Healthy people do not need a flu shot.
Anyone can get the flu, even if you’re healthy. That is why the CDC suggests an annual influenza vaccination for everyone who is six months and older. Furthermore, no matter how fit you are, once you are infected, you can become contagious. Actually, according to the CDC, up to 20 percent of people carrying the flu virus have no symptoms.
Myth: I don’t need the flu vaccine every year.
The effectivity of the flu vaccine decreases with time, making it essential to get vaccinated yearly. In addition to protecting yourself, it also protects those around you. It is also vital to understand that the flu virus mutates every year. Getting a yearly vaccine ensures that you are protected from the strains that are more likely to cause an outbreak during that particular season.
Myth: The flu vaccine causes the flu.
The flu shot is made from an inactivated virus that cannot transmit infection. It takes a week or two to get protection from the vaccine. But some people assume that because they got sick after getting the vaccine, the flu shot caused their illness. In reality they were probably already on their way to getting sick.
Myth: Pregnant women can’t get a flu vaccine.
The CDC recommends that pregnant women get vaccinated at any time during their pregnancy. Plus, there’s a higher chance of flu complications in pregnant women. Pregnant women who receive a flu vaccine not only protect themselves but also her unborn child from the flu. Babies are protected by their mother’s antibodies for the first few months of their lives.
Myth: The flu vaccine has several side effects.
Compared to other vaccines, the flu vaccine has one of the best safety records. The most common side effect is tenderness around the area where the injection was given.
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