Fast Facts about Flu Shots

• Know your flu F.A.C.T.S. – Fever, Aches, Chills, Tiredness, Sudden Onset
• Over 90,000 adults will be hospitalized and more than 6,000 will die because of influenza each year
• Adults who receive the vaccine are less likely to have to visit a healthcare provider for the flu, be hospitalized for the flu or to die from the flu.
• Seniors, children and those with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to the flu and tend to suffer worse from symptoms.
• It is a myth that getting a flu shot can cause the flu. The shot itself can cause redness or tenderness at the injection site, but it is more likely that someone who gets the flu after the shot was already exposed or carrying it. The injection itself contains only inactive virus.
• The best time to get vaccinated is in October or November. You can still get vaccinated later, say December, and be protected.
• Many people assume that if they’ve had the flu recently then they can’t get it again (and therefore don’t need the shot) but that is not the case. Different types of influenza can circulate so it is possible to be infected with different types.
• Antibiotics cannot fight the flu. Antibiotics only fight bacterial infections. The flu is a virus, so antibiotics have no effect on any strain of the virus.
• So you’ve heard the vaccine doesn’t work? Depending on the types of virus going around, if you get the vaccine, you are somewhere between 60 and 90% less likely to need treatment for the flu.