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The Alliance
pays for flu shots
Getting a u shot each year
can protect you and your
family. Alliance members
6 months to 18 years old must
get the u shot from their
doctor. Call your doctor today
to make an appointment.
Members 19 years and
older can get a u shot
from their doctor. ey can
also get a u shot at most
Alliance pharmacies. Call
your pharmacy and ask if they
o er free shots for Alliance
members 19 and older. ( e
Alliance cannot refund
members who pay for a u
shot on their own.)
If you are not sure who
your doctor is or if you need
help nding
a pharmacy,
please call
the Member
Services
Department at
1-800-700-3874
.
flu facts
Myth:
e u is not a serious
disease.
Facts:
In uenza ( u) is a serious
disease
of the nose, throat and lungs,
and it can lead to pneumonia.*
There are 200,000 people
hospitalized and thousands who
die each year from u in the U.S.
*
Pneumonia is a lung infection
that can make you very sick. You may
cough, run a fever and have a hard
time breathing.
Myth:
e u shot can make you
sick.
Facts:
e u shot cannot make
you sick.
e u viruses in the u
shots are not alive, which means
they cannot cause infection.
However, the nasal spray flu
vaccine does contain live viruses.
e viruses in the nasal vaccine are
weakened, which means they also
cannot make you sick.
Myth:
e u shot does not work.
Facts:
Most of the time, a u shot
will prevent the u. Studies show
that the u shot works between 70
and 90 percent of the time when
there is a good match between the
viruses in the vaccines and those
circulating.
Getting the u shot is
your best protection during u
season.
Myth:
e side e ects are worse
than the u.
Facts:
e worst side e ect
you are likely to get from a shot
is a sore arm.
e nasal spray
u vaccine might cause nasal
congestion. e risk of having a
severe allergic reaction is less than
1 in 4 million.
Myth:
Only older people need the
u vaccine.
Facts:
Everyone needs to be
protected against the u!
Doctors
recommend that children 6 months
and older get a u shot every year.
Children are two to three times
more likely to get the u than adults,
because their immune systems are
not completely developed.
FLU SHOT
Facts and
myths
Myth:
You must get a u shot in
the fall to be protected against the
u.
Facts:
You should get a u shot
as soon as the vaccine becomes
available, even in August or
September.
e u virus tends to
spread from October through May.
However, it’s never too late to get
a u shot. You can get a u shot
anytime during u season to help
protect you and your family.
living
healthy
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