“How long does a flu vaccine last?”
My son will get a flu vaccine. I want to know long does a flu vaccine last?
8 Answers
Need one every year as the flu virus changes so the vaccine from last year will not be effective
About six months
Fengli Lan
Dermatologist
How long does immunity from influenza vaccine last? Protection from influenza vaccine is thought to persist for at least 6 months. Protection declines over time because of waning antibody levels and because of changes in circulating influenza viruses from year to year.
You get one flu vaccine per flu season.
Immunity from vaccines, while not life-long like natural immunity, lasts for many many years -- 10 years or more depending on the vaccine. This is true for the flu vaccine as well as all the others. The reason you need a new flu vaccine every year is because the virus changes, not because your immunity disappears. Last year's flu vaccine will likely not work for next year's flu, because the flu virus changes its appearance so that it can continue to infect you. If the virus never changed, it would not be able to infect you anymore and it would die off -- like the Polio virus and the Smallpox virus have done.
Shelley C. Springer, MD, MBA, MSc, JD, FAAP
Shelley C. Springer, MD, MBA, MSc, JD, FAAP
Hello,
The flu vaccine typically lasts about 6 months and should be received yearly as immunity wears off over time. The strains can also change from season to season.
Yours in health and wellness,
Dr. Hardin
The flu vaccine typically lasts about 6 months and should be received yearly as immunity wears off over time. The strains can also change from season to season.
Yours in health and wellness,
Dr. Hardin
Flu season starts in September and lasts till June of next year. The vaccine should be applied late in September or early October so your child will be protected in the peak of flu season. Still, coverage for the vaccine varies from season to season, and it's possible for your child to get the flu even if vaccinated because he may be exposed to a flu virus early after vaccination, could be exposed to a virus not included in the vaccine, and even some people get sick from the virus included in the vaccine. Still, I will recommend the vaccine and I take the vaccine every year. Influenza is a serious illness and the vaccine has shown in multiple studies to reduce the severity of the influenza.
At least 6 months.
