Game of Thrones may be over, but flu season is still coming. Make sure to get your flu shot to protect yourselves and the people around you! It takes a few minutes and it’s a safe and effective way to lessen the chances of you getting the flu!
When you get the flu shot you are receiving the killed vaccine and if you hate needles, and prefer the nasal spray vaccine, you are receiving an attenuated (or weakened) version of the vaccine. Because the vaccine is either completely dead or weakened, you cannot get the flu from the vaccine. If you get the flu when you got the vaccine, it’s most likely because you already had contacted the flu and it took a while for the symptoms to show.
Every year, many researchers spend time monitoring influenza patterns around the world in order to make the vaccine. They try their best to predict which strains will be the most damaging that year and add those strains to the final vaccine. Sometimes their predictions may not be entirely accurate, but the flu shot still works! While it may not be effective against a particular strain, the other parts of the flu shot still work!
Disclaimers: The flu is actually caused by the influenza virus which is not a bacterium. But scientifically speaking, viruses are pretty cool to study!
The flu shot/nasal spray isn’t for everyone. Some people are unable to get the flu shot due to medical reasons.