Flu vaccine myths - KOAM TV 7

Flu vaccine myths

Fall is here and soon it will also be flu season and some Joplin medical experts want to dispel myths about the vaccine.

Getting the shot will not give you the flu.  Nurses say you can experience fever as your body builds its immunity, and that takes about two weeks.

Infection control officers say everyone more than six months old should get the shot, even those who are in healthy environments.

And they say it's a myth that the vaccine won't work once flu season starts.

"It's never to late to get the flu vaccine as long as the flu season is still current," says Karen Watts, a Freeman Infection Control officer.  "So if you haven't had your flu vaccine by January make it your New Years resolution to get it.  The flu season lasts from anywhere from October all the way up sometimes even through May."

Freeman's Children's Clinic has flu vaccination clinics scheduled October 6 and October 20, from 8 a.m. until noon, and at its pediatric partners on November 3, from 8 a.m. until noon.

They say insurance typically covers flu shots.