The flu shot debate has been around for years, but what is the truth behind it? No, the flu shot will not give you the flu, and yes, everyone should get one.

Vaccines save more than nine million lives each year, but, as is the case with many vaccinations, some misconceptions continue to surround the flu shot. One misconception is the belief that the flu shot will give you the flu. It is true that the flu shot contains a weakened sample of the flu virus, but that is precisely the point. That weakened virus is the reason why the vaccine works at all. When an unfamiliar pathogen enters the body, immune cells trigger a chemical alarm, that then puts the body on alert for that virus, familiarizing itself with it. The weakened virus inside of vaccinations allows for this process to occur while still making sure that the sample of the virus is harmless. Flu shots are essentially training dummies for our immune cells to practice on. The only reason why people seem to think that the flu shot can cause the flu is because, on occasion, the injected virus is accidentally made too weak to be recognizable to our immune cells.

The flu virus can affect anyone, and it can even kill young children and the elderly. Rebecca Hendricks, mother of three from Tacoma, Washington, never misses annual flu shots for her family after her five-year-old daughter died from the flu. Before this tragedy, Hendricks and her children did not receive flu shots. “I just thought it was irrelevant,” Hendricks told KING-TV, an NBC-affiliated television station. She did not understand the risk of not giving her elementary age daughter a flu shot. “The flu shot is never 100 percent,” said Hendricks. “I would take four percent if it gave me that much of a chance to have my daughter still here.”

One of the many reasons why some people choose to not vaccinate is because they are uneducated in the importance of vaccinations, especially among children, who have still developing immune systems, and the elderly, whose immune systems continue to become weaker.

By not receiving a flu shot, you are risking your life and the lives of your loved ones. Getting a flu shot can prevent weeks of sickness and even death.