Even though you have avoided getting the flu so far, it does not mean that you will not get sick. Every year, different types of influenza virus circulate. By getting immunized, you decrease your chances of becoming ill.

Even healthy children and young adults can become seriously ill. On average, the flu can leave you ill for up to seven days and even mild cases of the flu can impact you significantly.

Flu strains can change every year. The vaccine that protected you last year may not fully protect you from the type of flu going around this year.

Also, the vaccine’s protection may last only up to one year, so you need a flu shot every year to boost your natural protection. Protection by the vaccine develops within two weeks after you have been immunized, so it’s important to get it as soon as possible in the fall. The earlier you get it, the sooner you’re protected.

While pregnant women are no more likely to get the flu than the rest of the population, they are more likely to develop complications from an influenza infection. This is because during pregnancy, their immune system is suppressed.

Pregnant women, especially those in the second and third trimesters, and women up to six weeks after delivery are at a higher risk of developing complications, such as pneumonia, from influenza. Flu shots are safe and recommended for all pregnant women.

This is simply not true. The vaccine does not contain any ingredients that would cause the flu and therefore the shot cannot give anybody the flu.

At the time of year (fall and winter) that the vaccine is administered, many cold viruses cause illness. The presence of a cold may be mistaken as the flu. Remember that the vaccine does not protect against cold viruses.

The flu can be much worse than a cold. Colds do not generally result in serious health problems, but it is possible to get pneumonia from the flu. Even mild cases of the flu can leave you feeling sick for days.

The seasonal flu shot is typically 70 to 90 per cent effective in preventing the flu in healthy children and adults, when the vaccine is a good match to the influenza types circulating that flu season.