Mayo Clinic Minute: 3 misconceptions about COVID-19 and flu vaccines

Mayo Clinic Minute: 3 misconceptions about COVID-19 and flu vaccines

By
DeeDee Stiepan

November 7, 2024

Family consisting of young boy, adult woman, young girl, adult man pointing to bandages where they had vaccines, vaccinated

Misconceptions about the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines may make some people hesitant to roll up their sleeves. What better way to clear up the confusion than hearing straight from a Mayo Clinic expert?

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Robert Jacobson, medical director for Mayo Clinic's Primary Care Immunization Program, clears up some misconceptions about COVID-19 and the flu.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (1:05) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

Misconception #1: The flu and COVID-19 vaccines can make you sick.

"You aren't going to get the flu from the flu vaccine. You're not going to get COVID from the COVID vaccine. It may feel momentarily like you're coming down with something, but it's going to resolve without any treatment," says Dr. Jacobson.

Misconception #2: Supply issues.

Some may worry about supply issues and don't want to take vaccines away from other who may really need them. Dr. Jacobson says, while that may have been the case when the COVID-19 vaccine was first rolled out, it's not anymore.

"We have three manufacturers in this country making COVID-19 vaccines (which) are licensed or approved for use by the FDA, and monitored and recommended by the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices). Pharmacies, healthcare organizations and public health have the vaccines available for you. That's not an excuse," says Dr. Jacobson.

Misconception #3: Natural immunity from a recent infection.

Finally, some may believe they don't need vaccination because they had a recent infection. However, Dr. Jacobson explains why you can't rely on natural immunity alone.

"Not everybody, who even has a good immune system, gets three months protection out of it. We're not in a situation where our resources are strained to get you the COVID vaccine. So you no longer have to do us the favor and wait the three months," says Dr. Jacobson.