VERIFY FLU FAST FACTS:

QUESTION 1- Is it too late to get a flu shot?

ANSWER 1- Nope, there's still 13 weeks left of the flu season and the DMV still has supplied available.

QUESTION 2- Is the flu vaccine only 10 percent effective?

QUESTION 2- This prediction was based off an Australian study and is off. The vaccines about 30 percent effective. Getting vaccinated won't mean you can't contract the flu, it means your symptoms will be less severe: where you would have taken a week off for work, perhaps you'll only experience mild symptoms that let you continue powering through work.

QUESTION 3- Does the flu shot have mercury in it?

ANSWER- Yes it does. It's called thimerosal and it's a preservative that safe according the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Thimerosal has no known side effects and the concentration of mercury in a flu shot is about as much as there is in a 3 ounce can of tuna fish.

SOURCES:

Food & Drug Administration

Centers for Disease Control

Environmental Protection Agency

American Academy of Pediatrics

Dr. Michael Chang, a pediatric infectious disease expert with UT Health & Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital