Choose from the following myths:
Fact: You definitely cannot get the flu from the flu shot.
Some people who get the flu shot may experience redness and swelling around the area of the shot, which normally disappears within a few days.
A small percentage of people may also suffer short lived fever and tiredness, symptoms similar to the flu.
The flu vaccine contains no live flu virus at all - it's actually a small dose of parts of inactivated flu virus, and cannot give you the flu.
Fact: Over the past two years, more than 6,000 people in Queensland were notified to Queensland Health with influenza. This is thought to be only a fraction of the people who actually get it.
It is a highly contagious disease that can lead to severe complications, including hospitalisation, pneumonia and death. For young children and the elderly, influenza is one of the most common causes of hospitalisation for vaccine preventable diseases in Queensland.
Fact: No one is totally immune from the different strains of the influenza virus. Most people can get sick with influenza multiple times over the course of their life.
Influenza spreads easily from person to person through breathing, coughing and sneezing. The virus can also be spread when people touch tiny droplets from coughs or sneezes on another person or on an object.
Immunisation each year is important as the strains of the disease circulating in our community change. Some strains can cause more serious illness than others.
Fact: The influenza vaccine is very safe. Most people experience no symptoms after their vaccination. However, some people may experience some redness or soreness at the area the needle was given.
Mild influenza-like symptoms may occur in some people. These symptoms can include mild fever, headache and aching muscles. These are much less severe and don't usually last more than a day or two.
Rarely, influenza vaccination can result in an immediate allergic reaction, which can even more rarely be severe. Immunisation providers are trained to treat such allergic reactions. People who have had a severe allergic reaction to influenza in the past should not be vaccinated again.
Anyone who has had a severe allergic reaction to eggs should not receive influenza vaccine.
Fact: The vaccine prepares and boosts your immune system to help fight the virus if you are exposed to it. People who get the influenza shot every year are better protected against influenza than those who do not get vaccinated.
Fact: There are many different strains of influenza and the one vaccine cannot guard against them all. The vaccine contains the most common strains of influenza expected to occur in Australia that year.
Because these strains may change each year, a person needs to get vaccinated each year to be protected against new strains. The vaccine takes up to 14 days to take effect.
Fact: There are also many other illnesses that can cause flu-like illnesses. The influenza vaccine does not protect against these illnesses.
It may also be possible that you caught the influenza virus before, or just after, you were vaccinated as the vaccine takes up to 14 days to take effect.
The influenza vaccine only guards against the most common strains of the virus expected to occur in Australia that year. For those who contract influenza, despite being vaccinated, their illness is usually much less severe.
Fact: Influenza strains can change from year to year so a new vaccine is made each year to protect against the current strains. It is therefore important to get re-vaccinated against influenza every year.
Fact: An annual influenza vaccination is designed to protect against the strain of human influenza circulating that year, not avian (or bird) flu. While there has been a recent focus on bird flu, human influenza infection currently poses a far greater danger.
Fact: New anti-viral medications have been developed over the last few years to treat influenza. If given early during the infection, these medications reduce the length of time that symptoms last and can help people return to their daily routines earlier if taken soon enough. Rest and plenty of fluids are also important to help recover more quickly.
Fact: The vaccine is available free of charge for:
For people outside these groups the vaccine can be purchased for around $20 from a pharmacy with a prescription for your doctor. A consultation fee may be charged by your doctor.
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