CSUN On Point

Getting a flu shot can save your life.

According to the World Health Organization, between 250,000 to 500,000 people die every year from the flu. The most common flu symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, chills, runny nose and a headache. Urgent care physician’s assistant Vanessa Guzman said the flu can also lead to pneumonia.

The vaccine is made, often using egg-based technology, and adjusted every season by drug manufacturers, working in collaboration with the WHO and the FDA, to test and improve the effectiveness of the shot depending on which viruses are expected to be in circulation.

But the National Opinion Research Center reports that in 2018,  41 percent of Americans said they did not plan on getting the flu vaccine. Some people say they never get the flu, or they don’t believe in vaccines. And about one in three say they choose not to get vaccinated because they believe the flu shot will make them sick.

“It is really impossible to get the flu from the flu vaccine,” said Mercedes Gallup, Nursing and Clinical Supervisor at CSUN’s Klotz Student Health Center. She said most of the time people who do get sick had been exposed to the virus prior to the vaccination.

Gallup recommends getting the shot before flu season begins, because the immune system takes two weeks to build itself up from the vaccine, leaving a vulnerability period in which you can become ill if you’re exposed to the virus.

Other people don’t get vaccinated because they worry about side effects. The most common are a sore arm or bump. The CDC recommends that those with allergies to eggs should take precautions, but may be vaccinated.

Even after the shot, people can still limit their exposure to viruses, and decrease their chances of getting sick, with some simple precautions like washing hands regularly and avoiding people who are ill.

“You can do your best to minimize and mitigate the chance of an infection, from not just the flu, but other things as well,” Medtronics Inc. associate scientist Simrat Kalsi said.

The Klotz Student Health Center offers the flu shot at a low price, and with medical insurance students can get the vaccine for free at most pharmacies.

Moderator: Monica Campos

Producer: Demothy Tien

Anchor: Alan Cardoza

Social Media Editor: Kimberly Lopez Chavez

Reporters: Kenia Arevalo, Monica Campos, Alan Cardoza, Lauren Cienfuegos, Zaira Garcia, Kimberly Lopez Chavez and Demothy Tien