If you've been watching the news lately, or have been reading about it online, you have heard about the really bad flu strain that has been going around this year. Supposedly it is the worst they've seen in ten years. It is especially deadly to those young and old. As a student at OU I am around people all day, who are either sick in one way or another; Hand sanitizer is a must when I'm packing my bag for the day. I recently found myself in a situation where a person came into one of my classes announcing they had the flu, they were eventually sent home by the professor thank goodness, but the incident sparked a conversation about whether or not the flu shot really works. Someone piped in saying that "the flu shot can still get you sick because it puts the virus in you"; Now you know the inspiration of my article today. First of all, the flu strain that is in the flu shot is a dead strain, meaning you would be immune to this strain but it still helps your body fight the virus when future strains come along. Second, if you have had the flu shot but still gets sick it means you had been around someone who was sick before the vaccine kicked in. Vaccines such as this are important because they protect you from deadly diseases, it wouldn't be worth creating a vaccination if the virus was harmless. The purpose of this article today is to spread the word about getting a flu shot. Protect yourself from this disease and stay healthy. The flu shot is here to help not make you sick.
