And 9 other questions about the annual flu vaccine
The invitations for the flu shot are now received by about 6 million Dutch people. Many people have questions about this annual vaccine. So here are 10 extra questions and answers.
1 Can you get sick from the flu shot?
The most common side effects of the flu shot are: a sore, red or tender arm (at the injection site), headache, fatigue or listlessness during the first two days after the shot. You can read more about the reported side effects in the package inserts of the two flu vaccines used. If you develop a fever and cough and sneeze in the first two days after getting the flu shot, you probably have another respiratory virus. In October and November there are a lot of ‘snotter viruses’, but the flu virus usually doesn’t come until December.
2 How long does it take for the flu shot to protect?
After you get the flu shot, it takes two weeks for your body to produce enough antibodies. The antibodies protect against flu for about half a year. The best time for the flu shot is therefore every year from October. The flu only occurs in winter, usually between December and April.
3 Can you still get the flu after the flu shot?
Yes, you can get the flu after the flu shot. There are 3 possible causes for this.
- 1. You are not fully protected in the first two weeks after the vaccine and you can become ill with a flu virus. You run this risk especially if you got the shot late, for example at the beginning of December, when the flu is in the country.
- 2. You become infected with a type of flu virus that is not in the vaccine. The vaccine protects against four types of flu virus.
- 3. The flu vaccine doesn’t work as well as the corona vaccines that can be 90 percent effective. So you can get the flu, although the disease is less severe thanks to the protection provided by the vaccine. The flu vaccine is less effective, especially if your immune system is less effective.
4 Is the flu shot also useful if you are under 60?
From the age of 60 you become more vulnerable to a serious course of the flu. That is why the Health Council recommends the jab from this age. This also applies to younger people with, for example, diabetes or heart or lung disease. For people younger than 60 without illness, the flu shot is only recommended if they come into contact with vulnerable people. Think of healthcare workers and carers. It is useful for them to take a flu shot, because these vulnerable people may not be sufficiently protected, despite the flu shot. You can also get a flu shot if you want to avoid a sick bed, but then it is at your own expense.
5 Are you less contagious to others after being vaccinated?
Yes, the chance that you will contract the virus and spread it around is much lower after vaccination.
6 Are you contagious if you have no symptoms (yet)?
Yes. You are contagious for 1-2 days before you develop symptoms. Even with asymptomatic influenza (passing through the flu without getting sick) you can have the virus in your nose and thus spread it.
7 What does it do to your resistance if you get the flu shot every year?
The immunity after a flu shot does not affect your natural defenses.
8 I had the flu last February 2020. Or was it corona in hindsight?
If you were tested with a PCR at the time, you would know exactly the cause. Without such a test, it is difficult to distinguish between influenza and Covid-19.
9 If we’re going to get an annual COVID vaccination, can you get it along with the flu shot?
You probably can. This is now being done in many countries. In the Netherlands, it has been decided not to combine this, also because of logistics (flu shot at the general practitioner and corona jab at the GGD). It may be combined in the future. It is two shots, there is no vaccine yet in which the two vaccines are combined.
10 Does the flu shot affect the corona vaccination?
No, the vaccine for corona protected against the coronavirus and the flu vaccine against the flu virus. Those viruses are different and the vaccines do not work back and forth.
Sources:
Q and A of the Influenza Foundation Netherlands, see also the other flu questions and their broadcast about the flu shot: https://www.plusonline.nl/griep-en-verkouheid/ Geten-mantelzorgers-ook-een-griepprik
Q&A on the RIVM website: https://www.rivm.nl/griep-griepprik/griep/vragen-en- Antwoorden-griep.
