Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Law Students Blogs -> Random Ramblings About Life and Law School

Law Students

: Random Ramblings About Life and Law School

For the record: you cannot get the flu from a flu shot!

The flu shot does NOT contain a live or weakened virus! It's an "inactivated virus", which means it's completely and totally dead. It's impossible for a dead virus to make you sick because only living viruses can replicate itself. If it can't replicate itself, it can't mount the full-scale attack needed to overwhelm your immune system and make you sick.

What you may be feeling is your body building up immunity to the virus, you might have caught one of the many bugs that have been going around lately, or it may be psychosomatic. Either way, you'll probably be feeling better tomorrow.

It's a very, very common misconception that you can get the flu from the flu shot or that it contains a weakened form of the virus. Neither of these is true! Check out the Centers for Disease Control's website for more information, or just do a search on google.

Also, if you're worried about the tiny amount of the preservative thimerosal (which contains 49% mercury) in some flu shots, just ask for a preservative-free one instead. According to the CDC, the FDA, and the World Health Organization, though, thimerosal does not cause disorders like autism.

Full post as published by Random Ramblings About Life and Law School on October 28, 2008 (boomark / email).