Should you get the flu shot?

In short: yes. Longer answer: yaaaasssss. Even longer answer: see below.

Notwithstanding my undergrad degree in bioengineering, getting the annual flu shot and staying up to date on your vaccines (including the booster shots that you should get as an adult every couple years) is a no-brainer. When you get a vaccine, you’re receiving a weakened, or likely dead, form of a virus. Because it’s weakened, it doesn’t cause your body to get sick, but it does allow your immune system to recognize and build defenses for it, so that when you encounter a live version of the virus, your body already has the memory, stored inside B- and T-cells, to fight it off, sometimes without you even knowing that you caught it again. Vaccines kinda fall under the category of things that you don’t know notice when they’re working, like sunscreen! And breathing. Idk about you, but it’s only when I have a runny, stuffy nose that I miss the functionality of my clear airways.

Put another way, your immune system as the sheriff in town. NRVS puts it best: “Vaccines are like a wanted poster, they just show your body what the bad guys look like, so when faced with them for real you are ready, prepared, and able to stop them before they cause harm.” Or, if Western movies don’t pique your interest, you can liken getting vaccines to buckling up in the car: it doesn’t hurt to do it, it protects not only you, but also others around you, and it’s a preventative measure that doesn’t take much effort to implement. Win-win for all.

WHY GET VACCINATED AGAINST THE FLU?

Coming down with any of the influenza (flu) symptoms isn’t fun—fever/chills, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, plus fatigue to boot. The flu virus, which can be any of 4 kinds (A, B, C, D) is contagious and spreads mainly via by touch or through the air when already-afflicted people cough, sneeze, or talk. The CDC states that people with the flu are most contagious in the first 3-4 days after their illness begins, but can infect others beginning 1 day *before* symptoms develop and up to 5-7 days *after* becoming sick. If left untreated, and at worst case, the flu can develop into bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, and make existing chronic medical conditions worse, like asthma.

So yeah, why not take preventative measures to protect yourself from catching the flu, especially when it’s free? Most workplaces and some convenience stores like CVS and Walgreens offer an annual flu shot free of charge. Even if you’re one of the lucky people who never seems to get sick, being vaccinated will come in handy in the chance that the virus that’s going around is a mutant strain that your body isn’t equipped to fight. Plus, you should thank all the people you’re around, who are likely vaccinated. They form a sort of people shield; if they don’t catch the flu, you won’t catch it either. Here are FIVE different videos that explain herd immunity in a visual way.

BUT I NEVER GET SICK!

Healthline.com knows what’s up: “Saying that you have never had the flu so you don’t need the flu shot is like saying you’ve never been in a car accident so you don’t need a seatbelt”. You’re more likely to catch the flu than get into a car accident, considering that the CDC estimates between 9.3 million and 49 million cases of the flu happening in the US alone.

Sure, you’ve perhaps managed to avoid everyone’s germs for the past couple years, but your immune system will not always be equipped to defend yourself from the ever-mutating viruses going around. I don’t know about you, but I much prefer spending my days off up and about or voluntarily being a couch potato, rather than suffering in bed against my will and feeling miserably lethargic.

There’s also evidence that people who do catch the flu even after being vaccinated experience milder symptoms than they would if they hadn’t been vaccinated (source: CDC study)

WILL I GET SICK IF I GET THE FLU SHOT?

That’s a no from me dawg. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree, too. Flu vaccines, which either contain a dead virus (read: not infectious) or a single gene (as opposed to the full virus), kickstart your immune response without causing a full-blown case of the flu. To throw in yet another analogy, it’s like scrimmaging in practice against the opposing team and knowing before hand what play they’re going to make.

IS IT BETTER TO GET THE FLU THAN THE FLU VACCINE?

No. As mentioned above, if you come down with the flu, you can spread it to others for a whole two weeks and if left untreated, severe cases can develop into bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, and make existing chronic medical conditions worse, like asthma. Free flu shot from your doctor, employer or school pop-up clinic, or convenience store >> spending money on meds, potential doctor’s office visits & hospital stays.

Plus, getting vaccinated bolsters herd immunity! Some individuals can’t get the flu vaccine because they’re too young (i.e. younger than 6months), are allergic to the vaccine, or have a weakened immune system (e.g. those with cancer, are currently sick, or are taking immunosuppresants). If the people around them are all vaccinated, and therefore are less likely to catch the flu, then the virus is less likely to spread because it has no one to infect.

BUT VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM…RIGHT?

No. My name isn’t Adam Savage or Jamie Hyneman, but I will gladly bust this myth for ya.

Let’s start first with what does cause autism, of which there is no single cause. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, is classified as a broad set of conditions characterized by difficulties with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. Autism develops from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Factors that can increase the likelihood of a child developing autism include the following: older age of parents (either mother or father), complications during pregnancy and birth (such as being born premature, having a low birth weight, or pregnancies that are spaced less than one year apart).

What may have contributed to the belief that vaccines cause autism is that young kids are often diagnosed with autism around the same that they receive their first or second round of vaccinations. But correlation does not imply causation, folks!

DOES THE FLU SHOT HURT?

The size of a flu shot needle is usually so thin that getting a flu shot feels like a light pinch on your arm. Some vaccines are known to be a little more soreness-inducing or painful during the injection, like HPV, Hepatitis A & B, and DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis). Which is not to say that you shouldn’t get these! Getting the HPV vaccine reduces a woman's risk of cervical cancer and precancerous growths substantially. Men cannot develop cervical cancer, but the HPV vaccine may prevent genital warts, penile cancer, anal cancer, and the spread of HPV to sexual partners (source: Cancer.org)

When I got the flu shot last month, free of charge at the office, my walk-in appointment took all of 5 minutes. I said hi to the front desk, signed a form, sat down on a chair and rolled up my sleeve, got the vaccine and a band-aid, and walked out. I asked my coworker, who’s gotten a bunch of booster shots during his time in the Army, how getting the flu shot compares to others that he’s received:

“The penicillin shot: 24 hours later, I could not walk. It was the worst experience of my life. Look it up, it’s called the ‘peanut butter’ shot.” More viscous liquids tend to impart more pressure at the injection site = perceived pain is higher.

“So if the penicillin shot feels like peanut butter, what would you call the flu shot?”

 “A mosquito bite”

Other myths about vaccines, debunked by PublicHealth.org:

Myth #1: Vaccines cause autism.

Myth #2: Infant immune systems can't handle so many vaccines.

Myth #3: Natural immunity is better than vaccine-acquired immunity.

Myth #4: Vaccines contain unsafe toxins.

Myth #5: Better hygiene and sanitation are actually responsible for decreased infections, not vaccines.

Myth #6: Vaccines aren't worth the risk.

Myth #7: Vaccines can infect my child with the disease it's trying to prevent.

Myth #8: We don't need to vaccinate because infection rates are already so low in the United States