Flu Vaccine materials - B

Get the Facts to Fight the Flu

The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone
6 months of age and older

Form Approved
OMB No: 0920-0956
Exp. Date: March 31, 2016

Flu can be dangerous for anyone. The best way
to prevent flu is to get yourself and everyone
in your family vaccinated. Flu vaccines are safe.
This fact sheet explains the dangers of flu,
tells you when to get the vaccine, describes
several options, explains possible side effects
of the vaccine, and discusses how effective the
vaccine is in protecting against flu.
Almost everyone 6 months and older should get a yearly flu vaccine.

Vaccination is the most important step in protecting yourself
and loved ones against the flu.
Some people can be infected with the flu virus but have no
symptoms. During this time, they can still spread the virus to
others. Vaccination is the best protection against the flu and flurelated complications.

RISKS FROM FLU:

Hospitalization

Death

Illness lasting
several days

Missed work
and school

About the flu vaccine
You need a flu vaccine, even if you are healthy.
Flu can lead to serious illness, including
pneumonia. Even if you are healthy, you can get
very sick if you catch the flu.

Pregnant women, young children, older people, and people
with asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or lung disease risk illness
causing hospitalization, and sadly, sometimes death. Pregnant
women who catch the flu risk delivering their baby early, which
can increase the chance of birth defects. These groups have
more chance of serious complications. But anyone can get the
flu and become very sick or even die.
The flu vaccine is safe.
For more than 50 years, hundreds of millions of people have
gotten flu vaccines. Each year, the CDC works closely with the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other partners
to ensure the highest safety standards for flu vaccines.
The most common side effects of flu vaccines are mild.
The flu vaccine can sometimes cause mild side effects. The
most common side effects are soreness, tenderness, redness,
or swelling at the spot where you had the shot. With the nasal
spray flu vaccine, the most common side effects are stuffy nose
and sore throat. Some people may get a headache, muscle
aches, fever, or nausea, or feel tired after getting the flu vaccine.
These side effects are usually mild and last only 1-2 days. These
side effects are not the flu. Flu vaccines can’t give you the flu.

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Office of Health Communication Science

Getting the Facts Straight to Fight the Flu

Getting vaccinated each year provides the best protection
against flu throughout the flu season.
When you get the flu vaccine, your body starts to make
antibodies that help protect you against the flu. It takes
about two weeks to make these antibodies.
You may hear people say that they got the flu even
though they got the flu vaccine. In some cases, they might
have caught the flu soon after getting vaccinated, before
the antibodies were able to protect them. If you happen to
get the flu even though you were vaccinated against it, the
flu vaccine may help make your flu illness milder.
The flu vaccine cannot protect you from viruses
that are not the flu.
Many viruses have symptoms that seem like flu – but
they’re not the flu. The flu vaccine can only prevent
illnesses caused by seasonal flu viruses that are included
in the vaccine. It cannot protect against non-flu viruses
that may cause flu-like illness.

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Flu vaccines are offered in many locations.
Even if you don’t have a regular doctor or nurse,
you can get a flu vaccine. Some options are health
departments, pharmacies, retail stores, health centers,
doctor’s offices, and clinics. Many employers and
schools also offer flu vaccines.

Find a flu vaccination clinic near you at

http://vaccine.healthmap.org/

Flu vaccines are the best tool available to
protect against flu.
Each year, scientists develop vaccines that protect
against the flu viruses that will cause the most disease.
Sometimes there are flu viruses going around that were
not included in the vaccine.

Don’t avoid getting a flu vaccine because you don’t
like shots.
The very minor pain of a flu shot is nothing compared
to the suffering that can be caused by the flu. The flu
can make you very sick for several days, send you to the
hospital, or worse.

Unfortunately, the flu vaccine doesn’t provide the same
protection for everyone. How well the flu vaccine works
(or its ability to prevent flu) can range widely from
season to season and also can vary depending on who
is being vaccinated.

A nasal spray option is available for those 2-49 years old
who aren’t pregnant.

Get vaccinated before flu begins to spread.
Since it takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to
provide protection for you, you should get vaccinated
soon after vaccine is available. If by January you have not
yet been vaccinated against the flu, you should do so as
soon as possible.

You need to get a flu vaccine every year.
You need to get a flu vaccine every year to protect
yourself against the flu viruses that research suggests are
most likely to circulate each season. There are two reasons
for getting a flu vaccine every year:
The first reason is that flu viruses are constantly
changing. This means that flu vaccines may be updated
from one season to the next to protect against the viruses
research indicates may be most common during the
upcoming flu season.
The second reason is that a person’s immune protection
from the vaccine declines over time. Annual vaccination
gives the best protection.

For more information, visit http://www.address.here
or call 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).
Prevent flu. Get vaccinated.