Flu Vaccines

 Now, let's talk about flu vaccines.  What is the most common type of flu vaccine in the US?

In the US, "the flu vaccine" appears to be Fluzone (aka Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent Vaccine), manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur.  They also make Flublok Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine.  I can't find any studies about these but I haven't looked too hard.

Does the flu vaccine prevent you from getting the flu?

"While vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine."  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm

There are a lot of variety of influenza and the flu makers have to guess as to what will be common in the next 12 months.  If they are wrong, then the the flu shot is worthless.  If they are correct, then it will reduce the risk of getting the flu by 40% to 60%.   Let's say there is a 50% chance of guessing correctly.  So taking the flu shot will reduce your risk of getting the flu by 20 to 30% (call it 25%).

Are their side effects possible with the flu vaccine?  Of course. "The most common adverse events experienced during clinical studies were mild and temporary, and included pain, redness at the injection site, headache, muscle aches, and malaise. "   https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/qa_fluzone.htm

Will taking the flu shot reduce my risk of dying from the flu?  Yes.  The deaths per 100,000 from influenza is 3.4.  Taking the flu shot will reduce that risk by 25%, as calculated above.  So if you don't take the flu shot, your odds of not dying from the flu are 99.9966%.  If you do take the flu shot, your odds of not dying from the flu increase to 99.9975%.

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Can You Still Get the Flu If You Get a Flu Shot?

Yes. "getting a dose of flu vaccine does not mean that you are immune to the flu. Flu vaccination offers protection against flu virus — and it’s the most effective way to prevent the flu — but you can still get sick even after vaccination." https://www.mana.md/can-you-still-get-the-flu-if-you-get-a-flu-shot/