Does getting vaccinated against the flu every year weaken the immune system?

The dubious public relations that have been given to flu vaccines cause many to spread different theories about their necessity. What hasn’t been said already – that they are unnecessary, that they only encourage flu morbidity, that they prevent the body from getting stronger on its own.Although the world of science has long since refuted these claims, and many studies have already proven that this is a necessary vaccine that protects the body and also reduces the burden on hospitals and reduces the scope of general morbidity – there are still different opinions attached to this vaccine. According to one of them, people who get vaccinated against the flu every year cause their immune system to weaken. Is this true?

The purpose of the vaccine is to prepare the body for the “real battle”

“No vaccine can weaken the immune system, just like exercise cannot weaken our muscles,” explains Dr. of Immunology Netta Sofer Tzur, a lecturer in the health professions and a volunteer at Masadat. “The purpose of the vaccine is actually to ‘train’ the body, So that when we encounter the real disease, we will be protected through an immune memory that develops thanks to the vaccine.” According to her, the purpose of the vaccine is actually to prepare the body for the “real battle”. “There is no substance or component in the vaccine that could weaken the immune system, so this theory is fundamentally wrong.”

To the question of why we need a vaccine every year, the doctor explains that “unlike many other viruses, influenza strains tend to change with high frequency, and thus every year we meet viruses that are slightly different from those we met the previous year, which also requires an adjustment of the vaccine given against them. In addition, the immune memory against influenza has a tendency to fade faster compared to other viruses, so even if the strains do not change, it is important to give a booster, that is, strengthening and adding to the existing immune memory. It will not harm, but will only benefit and reduce the chance of getting sick.”

Dr. Sofer Zur points out that there are many studies that prove that the flu vaccine helps reduce the chance of getting sick and reduces it by about 50%. In addition, according to her, the vaccine reduces the chances of complications and serious illness due to the virus.