“Does a flu shot weaken the immune system?”
My son got a flu vaccine. I want to know does a flu shot weaken the immune system?
1 Answer
Hello,
The simple and straight answer to your question "does a flu shot weaken the immune system" is no. This vaccine and all vaccines exercise the immune system. In other words, vaccines cause the body to create antibodies to components of germs but not the actual living germ itself. The flu shot does not contain living flu germs (viruses) but only components of the flu virus to stimulate the immune system to make antibodies just like the flu virus does when the living virus enters the body, but without causing the disease influenza. The immune system is not weakened; it is activated. Hundreds if not thousands of germs enter our body every day, activating our immune system's defenses. If this were not the case, we would not survive but a few days without a functional immune system. Our immune system is never inactive. It is "looking out" for us every moment of every minute or every hour of our lives.
Regards,
Dr. T
The simple and straight answer to your question "does a flu shot weaken the immune system" is no. This vaccine and all vaccines exercise the immune system. In other words, vaccines cause the body to create antibodies to components of germs but not the actual living germ itself. The flu shot does not contain living flu germs (viruses) but only components of the flu virus to stimulate the immune system to make antibodies just like the flu virus does when the living virus enters the body, but without causing the disease influenza. The immune system is not weakened; it is activated. Hundreds if not thousands of germs enter our body every day, activating our immune system's defenses. If this were not the case, we would not survive but a few days without a functional immune system. Our immune system is never inactive. It is "looking out" for us every moment of every minute or every hour of our lives.
Regards,
Dr. T
