Experts say flu shot can weaken flu symptoms

Starlight Williams

Esau Jones thought he would never make it back out of bed.

 “I honestly could not move. I had a fever, and I never get a fever, of 103. Everything was sore, I honestly thought I was dying,” Jones said.

 However, while Jones, music education and jazz studies sophomore, may have felt like death, he just had the flu, which he thought wouldn’t be possible since he got the flu shot.

 According to Laura McCormick, primary care physician at Ochsner Health System said, the flu vaccine is only 50-60 percent effective. However, she said it is still better to get the shot once a year than not.

 “Once you get a particular strain of the flu, your body develops some immune memory to that strain,” McCormick said. “That’s why we do recommend get the shot on a yearly basis because every year there are different strains incorporated and that is how you build immunity.”

 While Jones didn’t necessarily agree, McCormick and Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said that the flu vaccine should lessen the symptoms of the actual flu if a person were to get it.

Jones said that he is doing everything possible to make sure he doesn’t get the flu again.

 “I used to bite my nails, and I haven’t bitten them in four weeks. I do not touch door handles, and if I do, I always have hand sanitizer or wash my hands immediately. I guess I’m taking care of things, being more aware of what I’m doing and my environment and realizing that germs exist,” Jones said.