7 Myths About Flu Debunked


Flu is a viral infection. Antibiotics treat only bacterial infections, like strep throat or urinary tract infections. Sometimes, says Javaid, complications from flu, such as pneumonia, are

treated with antibiotics, but flu itself is not. For flu, in addition to over-the-counter drugs for, say, relieving coughing and stuffy nose, there are approved antiviral drugs, such as

Tamiflu. (One note: These antiviral drugs should be taken early in the onset of flu symptoms to be effective.) MYTH NO. 4 YOU DON'T NEED A FLU VACCINE IF YOU RARELY GET SICK Flu is

highly contagious, and yes, even healthy people get it. “The influenza vaccine is the very best intervention we have to prevent flu infections and, sometimes, the serious complications it

can cause,” stresses Lisa Maragakis, M.D., senior director of infection prevention at the Johns Hopkins Health System. “Everyone should get a flu shot every year, and in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic it becomes even more important.” What's more, the flu virus “can mutate from season to season,” says Sophia Tolliver, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family

medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. If a strain circulates that your immune system has no experience fighting, you can be more susceptible to getting sick. Getting a

 flu shot will help, Tolliver notes, since the shot is designed to build immunity to the specific strains circulating in a given season. MYTH NO. 5 THE FLU SHOT CAN MAKE YOU SICK There is no

active virus in the flu vaccine, so it can't cause flu. Your arm may hurt after getting the shot, but such pain likely won't last long, says Ankita Sagar, M.D., a primary care

physician at Northwell Health in Great Neck, New York. Also, your body may ache as it's building up immunity, she says. All of which is likely worth it: According to the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the influenza vaccine stopped an estimated 4.4 million influenza illnesses in the especially severe 2018-2019 flu season, preventing 2.3 million

flu-related medical visits, 58,000 flu-related hospital stays and approximately 3,500 deaths.