Flu Shot Tip Sheet

The time for sniffling and sneezing is here. Wondering if you and yours should get the flu vaccine? Let these fast facts help you decide if vaccination is the flu prevention you've been looking for.

• Flu risks are nothing to shrug away. Influenza causes 200,000 people in the U.S. to be hospitalized every year. Prevention is key.
• Though experts suggest getting the flu vaccine by the Thanksgiving holidays -- holidays equal hugs, kisses, and close contact, after all -- getting vaccinated makes sense any time during flu season, which may last from October to May.
• Allergic to eggs or chicken protein? Then flu vaccines -- which are cultivated inside chicken eggs – may not be safe for you. Talk to your doctor to be sure.
• The flu kills 36,000 people in the U.S. every year. Flu vaccines help make prevention possible. Get vaccinated.
• Think the flu shot can give you the flu? It can't. The shot is made with a killed form of the flu virus -- which can't give you influenza. The nasal flu vaccine contains weakened viruses, which sometimes can cause flu in people with weak immune systems.
• Concern that there's a link between autism and the vaccine preservative Thimerosol has prevented some parents from getting their kids vaccinated. Worry no more. Thimerosal-free flu vaccines are now the standard for children in the U.S. -- and available to adults for the asking.
• Stuck on the fact that you need to get vaccinated every year? There's a good reason. Flu viruses change, so flu vaccines must change, too. Each year's vaccine is unique, cultivated from the flu strains health officials believe will be most menacing that year.