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1. Can I get the flu from the flu shot or flu mist?

No, a flu shot cannot cause flu illness. The influenza viruses contained in a flu shot are inactivated (killed), which means they cannot cause infection. Flu vaccine manufacturers kill the viruses used in the vaccine during the process of making vaccine, and batches of flu vaccine are tested to make sure they are safe. In randomized, blinded studies, where some people get flu shots and others get salt-water shots, the only differences in symptoms was increased soreness in the arm and redness at the injection site among people who got the flu shot. There were no differences in terms of body aches, fever, cough, runny nose or sore throat.

2. Do vaccines cause autism?

Medical and legal authorities agree that no evidence exists that vaccines cause autism.
In 2004, the Institute of Medicine—a prestigious group of impartial experts who advise Congress on science issues—stated strongly that the evidence from five large epidemiological studies, three of which involved more than 100,000 children each, did not support a connection between autism and thimerosal-containing vaccines. Similarly, evidence from 14 large epidemiological studies showed no association between measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. Since that time, even more studies have reinforced the conclusion that there is no evidence for a connection between vaccines and autism. In 2009, after extensive proceedings that generated 5,000 pages of transcript and included 939 medical articles, the federal court that administers the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program found the scientific evidence is “overwhelmingly contrary” to the theory that autism is linked to MMR vaccine, thimerosal, or a combination of the two. The World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency, Health Canada, and other national and international health groups have all dismissed the possibility of a link between vaccines and autism.

3. How do vaccines work?

Check out this short video.