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Flu shot not 100
percent, but still worth it
By RICHARD HARKNESS
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Q. Though a recent column said that the flu shot can’t give you the
flu, last year after receiving my shot I became severely ill for two weeks
with what sure felt like the flu. I’m 53 years old but don’t
want to go through that again. If you’re still going to get sick
like this, what is the sense of bothering with the shot?
A. I understand your concern and will attempt to shed some light on this
seeming riddle.
The most frequent side effects associated with the flu shot are local
reactions such as temporary pain and swelling around the spot where the
needle went in.
Systemic (bodywide) reactions to the flu shot have occasionally been reported.
Such reactions typically produce fever, fatigue, muscle pain and other
symptoms that begin about six hours after getting the shot and continue
for a day or two.
What you report, however, sounds more like the actual flu and its aftermath.
Since the flu shot contains killed viruses that cannot cause the flu,
the most likely explanation is that you were exposed to the flu virus
shortly before or during the “lag time.” Lag time means that
it takes about two weeks from the time you get the shot for your body
to build up adequate defenses against flu viruses. During this interim
period you can still get the flu.
Also, it must be said that the flu vaccine is not infallible. Each year
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks flu virus strains
worldwide in an attempt to reasonably predict which new strains will be
circulating during the coming flu season. Based on this information, the
agency recommends the makeup of that year’s flu vaccine. When virus
strains in the vaccine are well matched to actual virus strains circulating
about, the flu vaccine has been determined to be 70-90 percent effective
in preventing the flu among healthy adults younger than 65. Not perfect,
but pretty good.
Coming down with the flu is pure misery, as you can attest. Added to this
is the fact that flu-related complications claim an estimated 36,000 lives
annually in the United States.
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