{"id":10636,"date":"2023-08-31T16:05:50","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T21:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/?post_type=jtf_topics&p=10636"},"modified":"2024-08-12T15:59:54","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T20:59:54","slug":"do-i-really-need-a-flu-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"jtf_topics","link":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/jtf_topics\/do-i-really-need-a-flu-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I really need a flu vaccine?"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row source=”” text=”Clinical Trials” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” google_fonts=”font_family:Abril%20Fatface%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” link=”” css=”.vc_custom_1708910874436{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”The Claim:” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=””]\n
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Aunt Betsy had chickenpox as a child, and her doctor told her she doesn\u2019t need\u00a0the\u00a0vaccine because she can assume she already has immunity. Since she had a case of\u00a0the\u00a0flu\u00a0last year, she figures she doesn\u2019t need a\u00a0flu\u00a0vaccine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”The Facts:” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=””]Aunt Betsy doesn\u2019t need a chickenpox vaccine\u2013it\u2019s true.\u00a0The\u00a0chickenpox virus (varicella) is pretty stable\u2013not changing significantly enough or fast enough for her body\u2019s immune system to be unable to recognize it, even\u00a0after all these years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Influenza, though, is different.\u00a0The\u00a0virus\u00a0mutates frequently<\/a>, and those mutations affect how well our immune system will recognize\u00a0the\u00a0virus from year to year. It is very likely that in subsequent years, if you are exposed to an influenza virus, it would have changed substantially enough that your immune system won\u2019t protect you well enough. Get your\u00a0flu\u00a0shot, Aunt Betsy. And maybe a Shingles vaccine, too.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flu viruses mutate frequently, so even if you’ve had the flu before, getting a yearly flu vaccine is important for protection against new strains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","jtf_topic_subjects":[205,190,221,218],"class_list":["post-10636","jtf_topics","type-jtf_topics","status-publish","hentry","jtf_topic_subjects-chickenpox","jtf_topic_subjects-influenza","jtf_topic_subjects-shingles","jtf_topic_subjects-vaccine-safety","entry","no-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/10636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/jtf_topics"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/10636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10639,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/10636\/revisions\/10639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"jtf_topic_subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topic_subjects?post=10636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}