During this winter season, most people are getting the influenza, or flu vaccination. For those who don’t know, the flu disease is a contagious disease that is spreading across the U.S. and is caused by coughing, sneezing, and close contact. Some its symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache and runny or stuffy nose.
Thousands of people are dying from this illness. The flu vaccination, or flu shot, is supposed to protect you from getting this illness or if you do get it, make it less severe. Some haven’t been so fortunate in being protected by it, even saying that it has infected the flu virus in them. But it has its benefits during this season. Here are a few of them I discovered in a video I saw from WebMD.
Can the flu shot really give you the flu? According to the video, that answer is no. It states that while some shots contain weakened viruses, they can’t cause an infection. You could feel sore, achy or feverish afterward, but any serious side effects from the vaccination are rare. Basically, you boost your odds of not contracting the virus by getting it than if you decide not to get the vaccination.
Another myth about the shot the video touches on is whether it could give your child autism. This is not the case because numerous studies have found no link between vaccines and autism. In fact, children 6 months through 8 years of age may need two doses during the same flu season. Everyone else needs only one dose each flu season.
The bottom line is that getting a flu shot every year will likely protect you from getting infected with the various flu strains changing over time. While some people can’t get this vaccine, including people who are severely allergic to the shot or who has ever had Guillain-Barre Syndrome, most people can get it. So do yourself a favor and protect yourself from getting the flu by getting the flu shot. For more information on this video, visit www.webmd.com.
