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I decided to start this topic in response to someone's status update and some of the things being said about the flu vaccine within that thread of comments.
First, the injected flu vaccine is not a live virus vaccine. It is a heat killed virus, thus it is not infectious. The virus does not have to be live for you to produce an antibody response. Your antibodies do not recognize entire viral or bacterial cells. Antibodies can recognize a small sequence of one protein, and can be remarkably specific. A heat killed sample of a virus is not infectious but still has viral proteins present. Your body creates antibodies to some of these proteins, and that gives you temporary immunity to that particular strain of flu.
If you get a fever after your flu shot, it is simply your body mounting an immune response. Fever and inflammation is your body's immune system at work. The incubation time for the flu virus is 2 days on average. So if you feel symptoms the day of your shot, you can be 99% sure that it isn't the flu, or you were infected days earlier.
Should you get the flu shot? The short answer is yes.
Long answer: It is true that the flu shot is not the most efficacious vaccine out there. The producers of the shot are guessing, to some extent, which strain of flu will be prevalent in any given year. And hey, the flu might not seem like such a bad disease. It is true that most people would be sick for a few days and then move on. However, it can also be a deadly to susceptible people. So yes you should get the flu shot and here is why: just because you personally might not be particularly susceptible to the flu, getting the shot can still help prevent others from getting sick. Particularly if you are in contact with people who are elderly. very young, or on chemotherapy/immunosuppressant drugs (or otherwise immunocompromised). And you may think, "well, if I feel sick, I'll just stay away from my grandmother". However, you must remember that you are carrying the virus for several days before you show symptoms. In the end, it is an inexpensive shot that can potentially do you or others a whole lot of good and will not do you harm. Low risk, high reward. So why not get it?
Disclaimer: I am a mircobiologist, not a medical doctor. If you have medical concerns about the shot, don't take my advice alone.
First, the injected flu vaccine is not a live virus vaccine. It is a heat killed virus, thus it is not infectious. The virus does not have to be live for you to produce an antibody response. Your antibodies do not recognize entire viral or bacterial cells. Antibodies can recognize a small sequence of one protein, and can be remarkably specific. A heat killed sample of a virus is not infectious but still has viral proteins present. Your body creates antibodies to some of these proteins, and that gives you temporary immunity to that particular strain of flu.
If you get a fever after your flu shot, it is simply your body mounting an immune response. Fever and inflammation is your body's immune system at work. The incubation time for the flu virus is 2 days on average. So if you feel symptoms the day of your shot, you can be 99% sure that it isn't the flu, or you were infected days earlier.
Should you get the flu shot? The short answer is yes.
Long answer: It is true that the flu shot is not the most efficacious vaccine out there. The producers of the shot are guessing, to some extent, which strain of flu will be prevalent in any given year. And hey, the flu might not seem like such a bad disease. It is true that most people would be sick for a few days and then move on. However, it can also be a deadly to susceptible people. So yes you should get the flu shot and here is why: just because you personally might not be particularly susceptible to the flu, getting the shot can still help prevent others from getting sick. Particularly if you are in contact with people who are elderly. very young, or on chemotherapy/immunosuppressant drugs (or otherwise immunocompromised). And you may think, "well, if I feel sick, I'll just stay away from my grandmother". However, you must remember that you are carrying the virus for several days before you show symptoms. In the end, it is an inexpensive shot that can potentially do you or others a whole lot of good and will not do you harm. Low risk, high reward. So why not get it?
Disclaimer: I am a mircobiologist, not a medical doctor. If you have medical concerns about the shot, don't take my advice alone.
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