QUESTION:
Can you get sick with the flu from the flu vaccine?
ANSWER:
Nope!
SOURCES:
PROCESS:
Flu season is creeping in and that means, it’s time to get vaccinated.
People all over social media are posting selfies, proclaiming to the twitter-sphere that they got their flu shot, including notable health officials FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
But there’s also tons of people reviving the claim that the flu shot can make you sick.
So we're verifying: can you get the flu from the flu vaccine?
Our Verify researchers went to the Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They say, no, you cannot get the flu from the shot.
While the various types of vaccines do contain the flu virus, it’s either inactive or uses a single gene of the virus; you can’t get the flu from either.
So what’s with all the people tweeting that they’re feeling ill?
Experts say it’s possible to experience flu-like symptoms from the shot. The most common include, soreness or redness at the injection sport, headache, fever or nausea.
It is possible to get the flu AFTER getting vaccinated It takes two-weeks after the getting the vaccine, for your body to build up immunity to the virus. So it’s possible to get the flu in that time.
Keep in mind the flu vaccine is not 100 percent effective. The vaccine usually reduces your risk of the getting the flu by 40 to 60 percent, according to the CDC.
So no, you can’t get the flu from the vaccine itself. But you can experience some common symptoms.
