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Are Flu Shots Dangerous?

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Posted on March 24, 2022
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NO. Flu vaccines are studied, tested, and have been used in the U.S. since 1945.

Can you get the flu from the flu vaccine?

Again, no. To cause infection, flu viruses need to make copies of themselves. Flu vaccines, regardless of how they are made, do not contain viruses that can reproduce and make you sick with the flu.

What if I feel sick after getting a flu vaccine?

  • You may be experiencing side effects of the vaccine, which should not be confused with actually being infected with the flu virus. A slight fever, aches, or fatigue can be a sign that your immune system is learning to fight off the flu. This is not flu. When someone is sick with flu they suffer severe and long-lasting symptoms.
  • Since it can take up to two weeks following a flu vaccine for your body to build the proper immune response to help prevent flu, you could have been exposed to the flu virus before you were protected by the vaccine.
  • You may be suffering from another infection that is not flu.


What about serious side effects?

  • Most people who receive the flu vaccine have no reaction.
  • Some people may experience redness and slight swelling at the site of injection, fever, headache, and/or muscle aches. These side effects are actually evidence that your body is responding to the vaccine to fight off a future flu infection.
  • The risk of a severe allergic reaction in those who are vaccinated is less than one in one million.
  • Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological disorder where the immune system attacks the nervous system. Guillain-Bare syndrome is very rare. It is more common to develop GBS as a result of the flu (17 in one million) than from the flu vaccine itself (1 in one million).

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