Does getting the flu shot mean you can not get the flu?!


Question: The bad news is the flu vaccine does not protect you against all flu viruses, as they have to manufacture it about 6 months in advance, so they make an educated guess as to what strains of flu virus (and there are over 200 types) will be most prevalent that year. The good news is that if you do get a flu strain not covered the vaccine generally helps you by minimizing the severity of the infection by 'priming' you immune system. It reduces the risk that you develop viral pneumonia, or meningitis which is a complication of flu and can often be fatal, as well as being difficult to treat.


Answers: The bad news is the flu vaccine does not protect you against all flu viruses, as they have to manufacture it about 6 months in advance, so they make an educated guess as to what strains of flu virus (and there are over 200 types) will be most prevalent that year. The good news is that if you do get a flu strain not covered the vaccine generally helps you by minimizing the severity of the infection by 'priming' you immune system. It reduces the risk that you develop viral pneumonia, or meningitis which is a complication of flu and can often be fatal, as well as being difficult to treat.

Yeah

maybe

you can still get the virus - especially with all the different strands there are - and they constantly change -

there are two types of vaccines - a killed virus and a modified live virus - with a dead virus you shouldn't get sick at all but if a new strain comes along you wouldn't be as susceptible to it but its still possible -

the modified live virus makes your body work quicker to make antibodies so you dont wait as long to be protected but since it is a live virus just weakened you could still get a slight case of the flu from the vaccine itself

It means you will have built up antibodies for 3 specific strains of the flu.

They decide which strains they think will be the most prominent that year and those are the ones you are vaccinated against.

But you are still able to get other strains.

yeah but you still have to get another because they tend to wear off because they wont last the whole year

O-M-G!! Everytime I get the flu shot.. i end up getting the flu. About the last 4 years i havent gotten the shot... did i get the flu.. NO! :P its so weird. :S

No. It means you won't get the strain or strains of the flu the shot covers. If a new flu comes to town, you can get it.
Not a bad idea though, my mother in law is the only one in the house that got one, and she also is the only one that didn't get the flu so far.

It means you're less likely to, or if you do that you'll have a very, very mild case.

the flu is a virus, and it is like the cold. no antibiotics can kill viruses. there are tons of different types of the flu, so when companies make flu vaccines, they take the virus they think will be the most common, chemically inactivate it, and put it in a syringe. when your body senses it in your body, it thinks it is an invader. it then builds and stores antibodies in memory cells to protect you from future exposure to the real virus.

It means you greatly reduce your chances of getting it. Nothing's 100%.

Man-- can't believe this is always such a hard one for people. Don't feel too bad-- there are always the ones out there who still say: "The flu shot GIVES you flu".

maybe??? or maybe not??? or maybe yeah...

No. because their are many strains of flu every year.

NO! the current year's flu vaccination is always for the previous year's most common strains. Since flu is a virus and able to mutate, it is impossible to insure immunity with any vaccination. the shot lowers your chances, because you will be immune to some strains, and also may decrease the severity of illness, should you get the flu after the shot!

No. The flu shot does not protect against all strains of the flu. Influenza is caused by the influenza virus. There are thousands of different strains of this virus, many of which can infect humans. The flu virus is very prone to random genetic mutations. Immunity to one strain does NOT guarantee immunity to any other strain.

The flu vaccine is manufactured several months in advance using 3 strains. These strains are usually chosen from those isolated in Asia, depending on their chances of causing a flu epidemic. On occasion, the experts incorrectly predict the strains, resulting in a flu shot that will not protect against the strain causing the epidemic.





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