How much do you know about the flu shot? Take our true/false quiz to see how your answers compare with our nationally representative
sample of more than 2,000 adults.
Click 
for answers.
1. A person who receives the flu vaccine will not get the flu.
FALSE. The vast majority of people in our survey (88 percent) knew that the flu shot doesn’t guarantee protection. Instead, it generally
prevents the flu in some 60 percent or more of healthy people, depending in part on how well the vaccine that’s developed
each year matches the flu virus that actually emerges.
2. The flu vaccine works equally well for everyone.
FALSE: 84 percent of our respondents knew that this was not true. Not everyone who gets vaccinated necessarily avoids the flu. For
example, the shot generally prevents the flu in about 60 percent of healthy people in their 60s. But it offers slightly higher
rates of protection to healthy younger adults and children—and lower rates to those of any age who are frail or ill.
3. The government recommends that everyone over 6 months old gets vaccinated against the flu.
TRUE: Only about half of our respondents (49 percent) knew that. As of last summer the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
expanded its recommendations to cover more age groups. And while some people are at greater risk than others, just about everyone
faces at least some risk, making it a good idea for most people to get the shot.
4. People who get vaccinated against the flu help protect those who do not get vaccinated.
TRUE: The 55 percent of the people in our survey who answered this correctly understand that one of the shot’s main benefits is
to keep the disease from spreading. Of course, there are also other important steps you need to take, too, such as washing
your hands, covering your mouth when you cough, using a tissue when you sneeze, and staying home from work when you are sick.
5. The flu vaccine takes effect immediately.
FALSE. Almost three-quarters of the people in our survey got this right. In fact, it can take up to two weeks for the flu shot’s
full benefits to take effect. That’s one of the reasons it’s a good idea to get the shot early in the flu season, which can
run from October to May.
