Is the influenza vaccine the same as the flu injection?

Answer 1

More or less. The flu and influenza mean the same thing. Flu is just a shortened version of the word. The flu vaccine is sometimes given by injection into a muscle. The flu injection, flu shot, flu vaccination, influenza injection, influenza shot and influenza vaccination are all talking about the same thing.

The only differentiating part is that when you say influenza vaccine, you may be referring to the vaccine that is given in the form of an intra-nasal mist or spray and not in the form of a shot. Both forms are available for flu vaccines.

The vaccine is the medicine in the flu shot (flu vaccination, or flu injection).

Flu = Influenza

Vaccine = Medicine in a vaccination

Vaccination = Introduction of infectious agent (vaccine) for immunity = Giving a dose of a vaccine (can be oral, injected, or nasal administration) for the purpose of immunization/prevention of infection

Immunization = Vaccination = Infection preventative

Immunity = Immunized = Not susceptible to

Shot = Injection

Vaccination methods = shots, mists, tines, scrapings, oral vaccines

Answer 2

When talking about vaccines, a "booster" or "booster shot" is what a person gets in a specified period after the initial inoculation and it is done to "boost" the ability of the immune system to get an adequate immune response and create the protection against that disease or to "top off" your immunity with another introduction of the same vaccine as before.

An example is the tetanus vaccine that you need have "boosted" every 10 years to remind your immune system what antibodies it needs to keep on hand to protect you in case of exposure to tetanus. Almost all cases of tetanus occur in people who've never been immunized or who haven't had a tetanus booster shot within the preceding 10 years. Several other types of vaccines also must be repeated over time.

Each year a vaccine for the seasonal flu is developed, and if that annual inoculation is received, adults usually won't need to have any "boosters" and will have protection that is the most up to date for the currently circulating influenza viruses within a couple of weeks of the vaccination. In some cases, the flu vaccines do lose effectiveness over time, however, the annual vaccines should keep you up to date with the types most likely to be in your environment. If you miss the annual vaccination, then, over time, you may be at more risk again to catch the flu with the lowered effectiveness of the original vaccination. This reinforces the need for annual flu vaccination.

You typically need only the annual flu vaccination, however, there is another type of "booster" involved with the flu vaccines and some other vaccines, and that is that children under 10 need to get the initial vaccine and then a second "boost" with another dose of vaccine in about a month. This is needed in children because their immune systems are too immature to get the proper response with a single inoculation. The second vaccination can also be called a "booster" in these situations.