Many individuals fear getting the flu vaccination, but those fears are unfounded. The primary argument against the flu shot is made by those people who think that you can “catch” the flu by receiving the flu vaccination. This argument is made based on word-of-mouth—someone telling someone else that he or she got the flu from receiving a flu vaccination. Although word-of-mouth is not scientific evidence, it can be very powerful and convincing. The counterargument is made by the medical community and that argument claims that you can’t catch the flu by receiving the flu vaccination. This argument is based on well-done scientific studies, which have proven that people don’t get the flu by receiving the flu vaccination.

When two arguments like these are completely opposed to one another, usually little progress can be made to resolve the dispute. This is true because each side just doesn’t believe the evidence given from the other side. I think the argument that some people are making that you can get the flu from receiving the flu vaccination is really saying something else.  I think what people are saying is, “I got sick after taking the flu vaccination.” Now this statement or argument can be very true. But just because someone got sick with the flu or flu-like illness after receiving the flu vaccination does not mean that the vaccination made the person sick. One must realize that it takes time (about two weeks on average) for the flu vaccination to give a person protection from catching the flu. Therefore, it is quite possible for someone to receive the flu vaccination and still catch the flu before the vaccine has given the person its protection. Furthermore, the flu vaccine is produced based on the likelihood that the flu virus for that year will be similar to the vaccine made. But it’s not always a perfect match.

So after thinking through it, I’m sure you can easily see there are other good explanations for a person who gets sick after a flu vaccination. If you remain unconvinced, then I’d like to remind you that it’s riskier not to be immunized. Remember, 36,000 Americans die of influenza each year.

I hope this helps.

Live well family,