Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu shot every year.
Flu season in the United States usually lasts from October until April or May. The best time for most people to get a flu shot is September or October.
The flu can be serious, especially for people with cancer. Still, many people don’t think the flu shot is worth getting.
Monika Shah, an infectious disease specialist at MSK, explains the truth behind 5 common myths.
Myth 1: If the flu shot is not 100% effective, there is no point in getting it.
Not true. No vaccine works 100% of the time, but the flu shot is still the best way to protect yourself from the flu. Studies show it can lower your risk of getting sick with the flu by about half.
If you get the flu shot and still get the flu, it will make your illness more mild. It also lowers your chance of needing to go to the hospital or interrupting your cancer treatment. Getting the flu shot helps protect the people around you. This includes people who are more likely to get very sick from the flu, such as young children, older adults, and people with cancer.
Myth 2: The flu shot could give me the flu.
No. You can’t get the flu from a flu shot. Most flu shots use a killed form of the flu virus. Others use only a small part of the virus, or instructions that teach your body to make that part. No matter what, the flu shot can’t cause an infection.
There’s also a flu vaccine that’s sprayed into your nose. It uses a weakened form of the live virus. People with a weakened immune system (called immunocompromised) should not get the nasal spray vaccine. If you have cancer or are getting cancer treatment, talk with your doctor about which flu vaccine is right for you.
There are many different viruses that spread during the fall and winter months. Sometimes people get sick from a different virus around the time they get their flu shot. They may think the shot made them sick, but it didn’t. The most common side effects of a flu shot are soreness where you got the shot, mild body aches, and sometimes a low fever.
Myth 3: I don’t need the flu shot every year.
You do. Flu viruses change from year to year. Each year, experts choose the strains (types) of flu they think will spread most in the coming season. The vaccine is updated to match them.
Protection from the flu shot also fades over time. Getting a flu shot every year gives you the best protection.
Myth 4: I don’t need the flu shot if I wear a mask when I’m around other people.
Not true. A mask can help, but it doesn’t replace a flu shot.
The flu spreads mainly through the air. When a sick person coughs, sneezes, or even talks, they release tiny droplets that carry the virus. Less often, people get the flu by touching a surface that has the virus on it. Then they touch their mouth, nose, or eyes without thinking about it, and the virus gets in.
Along with getting your flu shot, you can protect yourself in other ways:
- Wash your hands often. You don’t need anything special. Soap and water work fine, or use hand sanitizer.
- If someone around you is sick, wipe down desks, countertops, doorknobs, and other surfaces that people touch. Use a disinfectant (germ-killing) spray or wipe.
Myth 5: If I already had the flu this season, I don’t need the shot.
You still need it. There are many different strains of flu virus that can go around each season. Getting sick with one strain may not protect you from the others, so you can get the flu again in the same season. A second case of flu can be just as bad as the first. It can also lead to other problems, such as pneumonia (a lung infection). The flu shot protects against the 3 strains that are expected to spread the most.
Flu season can last until May. If you did not get your flu shot yet, get one as long as the flu is still going around.
