Influenza vaccinations
Annual influenza vaccination is your best protection against influenza. Each year the influenza vaccine changes to match the strains of flu expected to be circulating that year, so it is important to be vaccinated every year.
Influenza is a highly contagious viral illness that can affect people of all ages. It is spread from person to person by virus-containing respiratory droplets produced during coughing or sneezing.
Find out more about:
- who can have the influenza vaccination
- where you can get vaccinated
- influenza vaccines for children aged 6 months to under 5 years
- getting vaccinated when you are pregnant
- influenza vaccines for people aged 65 years and older
- getting vaccinated if you have an underlying medical condition.
Healthy people and the influenza
Most people who get influenza are unwell for a few days and then recover. However, influenza infection can be very serious in some people causing hospitalisation and even death.
It is not possible to know who will be severely affected by influenza infection. Every year, previously healthy people are hospitalised due to the virus. The influenza vaccine reduces your risk of getting influenza and its potentially serious complications including death.
Even if you don’t get severely unwell with influenza, the flu can be an inconvenience causing time off work and visits to the doctor or even hospital. Influenza vaccination also helps to protect those around you including your family, friends and colleagues.
Who can't have the vaccine
The only absolute reason for not having the influenza vaccine is anaphylaxis following a previous dose of any influenza vaccine and anaphylaxis following any vaccine component.
Influenza vaccination is generally not recommended for people with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) whose first episode occurred with 6 weeks of receiving a previous influenza vaccine.
People with a history of GBS whose first episode was not after influenza vaccination have an extremely low risk of recurrence of GBS after vaccination and the influenza vaccination is recommended.
The influenza vaccine is recommended for pregnant people and is safe to administer during any stage of pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Influenza vaccines don't cause the influenza
The influenza vaccine cannot give you influenza. The vaccine does not contain live influenza virus.
Some people mistakenly believe that the vaccine causes influenza, reasons for this can include:
- An immune response is triggered following vaccination. In some people this may produce mild flu-like symptoms, like fever or headache, for a few days after the vaccine. These symptoms are much milder than the symptoms of actual influenza.
- It takes 2 weeks following vaccination for the body’s immune system to produce protection. Some people may develop influenza during this period because they have come into contact with the influenza virus before or soon after vaccination, but before developing protection.
- The common cold or other respiratory viruses may be confused with influenza. The influenza vaccine only protects you against the influenza virus.
How the influenza vaccine works
The effectiveness of the vaccine depends on how closely the vaccine matches the circulating strains of influenza virus and the person’s immune response to the vaccine.
But this will change from year to year. Although it isn’t perfect, the influenza vaccine is the best protection available against severe illness frominfluenza.
Side effects
Serious reactions to the vaccine are rare. The most common reactions are pain, redness and swelling at the injection site. Fever, sore muscles, and tiredness can also occur but usually only last one to two days after vaccination.
When considering whether to have any vaccine, it is a balance of the risks of the infection , in this case influenza, with the side effects of receiving the vaccine.
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More information
For more information about influenza vaccination, contact the Health Protection Service, Immunisation Information Line during business hours on 02 5124 9800.