With all the news about possible COVID-19 vaccines in development, it's easy to forget that there is another type of vaccine available right now, ready to protect us from a potentially serious viral illness: the flu vaccine.
As this year's flu season will coincide with the new coronavirus pandemic, doctors are raising the alarm. Getting a flu shot has never been more important. A big concern is the possibility of contracting the flu and COVID-19 at the same time.
No one knows for sure how most people will react to a simultaneous infection with these two viruses. However, we have extensive experience with children and adults who experience coinfection with two or more respiratory viruses. As you can guess, people get sicker, take longer to recover, and require hospitalization more often when a co-infection occurs. It is unlikely to be any different with COVID-19 and the flu.
An easy way to protect yourself, beyond washing your hands, wearing a mask, and practicing social distancing, is to get a flu shot. However, conflicting information about the vaccine abounds. For example, believing that one is immune to the flu and therefore does not need a vaccine is myth number one.
Flu Vaccine Myths Debunked
The flu is not that serious
People who are especially vulnerable to serious complications from the flu include those 65 and older ; people with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease; pregnant women ; and children under 5 years old.
The disease can be life-threatening, regardless of age. It is very important for everyone to get the vaccine and not have this false sense of security.
Imagine what could happen when the coexistence of COVID-19, which killed more than 870,000 worldwide during the first eight months of 2020, is believed.
I've never had the flu, so I must be immune to it
Just because you don't remember having flu symptoms doesn't mean you never had it. Many times people are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms. Still, they are very capable of transmitting to other people, which is another really important reason to get a flu shot.
The flu shot will give me the flu
Side effects from the flu shot are generally minor, and can include pain and mild swelling where the shot was given, headache, fever, muscle aches, nausea, and fatigue.
This may sound like getting the flu, but it is simply your immune system that is working, learning how to mount a defense against the flu. Symptoms are unlikely to last more than 48 to 72 hours.
The flu vaccine cannot infect you because vaccines are made with viruses that are killed or weakened, or they can use proteins from the virus. It has no potential to harm. It basically gives the body or the immune system a little map. It teaches the immune system to be prepared for the virus.
You can get the flu after getting vaccinated, so it doesn't work
The flu comes in different strains, and the trick is to match the vaccine to the strains that are likely to be prevalent in a given flu season. A flu virus has surface proteins that undergo slight changes every year. These are called antigenic variations. So we generally predict strains three to six months before flu season.
An unexpected new drift can occur that is not covered by the vaccine you took, in which case you can get that strain. But still, you get protection against the most common strains that were present last season and what is predicted to be in the next season.
I do not need a vaccine if I strengthen my defenses with vitamin C or zinc
Supplementation with these nutrients can affect cold symptoms and, in the case of vitamin C, also reduce the risk that people who engage in heavy exercise will catch colds. But the cold and the flu are two different illnesses .
Plus, a flu shot offers protection far superior to any nutritional measure you can take.
But if you still want to boost your immunity after getting the flu shot, you'd better focus on good health practices and make sure your nutrition is adequate and balanced, and that you get enough sleep.
Pregnant women cannot get the flu vaccine
This is false. The flu vaccine has been shown to be safe in pregnant women.
In addition, pregnant women are at high risk for complications from the flu, and the virus could also harm the fetus; fever caused by influenza may be related to defects in the brain, spine or spinal cord of the fetus.
But getting vaccinated during pregnancy protects the mother and the baby, and as a bonus, the mother passes antibodies to the fetus, which also continue to protect the baby after birth.
Flu Vaccine May Negatively Interact with COVID-19
There is no known interaction between the flu vaccine and SARS-CoV-2.
There is not enough data yet at this early stage of the pandemic to understand interactions, but it does note that the flu vaccine is specifically structured to address the flu virus, not the coronavirus.
The vaccine can lower my chances of getting COVID-19
The answer above is why this is also a myth.
Unfortunately, the flu vaccine will not protect you from COVID-19. However, being protected from the flu will be especially important if COVID-19 spikes this fall and hospitals are again overloaded with patients, because the vaccine reduces both the risk of infection and the chance that you will develop symptoms severe enough to to take you to the hospital.
