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Each year, doctors make an educated guess as to which virus strains will be active during flu season. From their selections, a vaccine is created that works by introducing your body to inactive (dead) viruses from the chosen strains. Anti-bodies are created to fend off the foreign substances. Once an anti-body is created, it will spring into action if you’re exposed to the same viruses that were in the vaccine.

Sounds good, but how many people have told you they came down with the flu right after they got the shot? Most likely, the flu they experienced was a strain different from the ones in the vaccine.

Yes, doctors can be wrong as was the case in last year’s flu season. There were three strains in that vaccine, but only one matched the actual viruses in the population. That means we were protected against one and only one virus last year. But bad guesses aside, no vaccine is 100% effective. However, if given at the right time and in the proper dosage, it’s impossible to get the same variety of the flu for which you’ve been vaccinated.

If you’re among the unfortunate few who gave the shot a shot and still got the flu, it could have due to timing. There is an optimal time-frame for getting the vaccine since it can take several weeks to create the antibodies. If you missed it, doctors still recommend getting the shot suggesting that even if it doesn’t work fully, the flu you do contract will be less severe.

Dosage and age are important as well. Young children, for example, need to have two doses of the vaccine since their bodies don’t create the necessary anti-bodies as easily as adults. And even in adults, individual anti-body response is not uniform across the population resulting in a protection level of 90% at best to date.

The elderly are another group where the flu shot may not be as effective. The reasons are not yet clear, but some evidence points to the problems of discerning between pneumonia and the flu. Though effective rates are often half of other groups, most doctors consider the possibility of any protection for this group worth the trouble of getting the vaccine.

And a couple of caveats: allergic reactions to the vaccine can mimic the flu (low grade fever, body aches) and getting a vaccine when you’re all ready ill can reduce effectiveness. Of course, if you’ve all ready been exposed to the flu strains that are in the vaccine, a shot won’t stop them from progressing.

No one likes getting a shot, but don’t let groundless fears of catching the flu stop you from getting a flu vaccine. When the right strains are chosen, it’s a highly effective way to help you stay well during the flu season. To get the most gain from the pain, don’t get the shot if you don’t feel well or have any egg related allergies and find out the best time to get the shot in your part of the country.