Amanda Wilde (Host): In early 2026, flu activity in Arkansas is considered very high and surging rapidly. The most effective way to prevent flu illness and protect vulnerable people in your community is an annual flu shot. Next, comprehensive fast facts about flu shots with Dr. Robert Hopkins, Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at UAMS. Dr. Hopkins is also Medical Director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. This is UAMS Health Talk, a podcast from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. I'm Amanda Wilde. Welcome Dr. Hopkins. Thank you so much for being here.

Robert Hopkins, MD: Happy to be here with you, Amanda.

Host: We hear about flu shots every year, but there are some lingering questions, so I'm going to try to hit those all today. Now, it is recommended that everyone six months and older receive a flu vaccine every season. What are the key benefits of getting a flu vaccine every year?

Robert Hopkins, MD: Well, I think it's important that we keep two facts in mind Amanda. First is, flu is a virus that changes very rapidly. We can see changes of a small nature. We can also see very large changes in the virus. And so if you get a flu shot one-year, it's going to give you protection likely about what's circulating that year, but that very well may not be

true the next season. So getting an annual flu vaccine gives you the best protection for what's circulating. The second is that many of us who've got, a bit of this silver stuff, or have been on this earth, for more than a season or two, our immune system gets a bit weaker. It doesn't respond quite as robustly.

So getting that vaccine every year means we've got maximal protection for the primary benefit, which is reduce the risk for severe flu, flu that's going to put you in the hospital or potentially cause severe complications and for its secondary benefit, which is prevent flu illness altogether.

Host: You mentioned the changeability of the virus. How effective are the vaccines in preventing the flu, and does that effectiveness vary from year to year?

Robert Hopkins, MD: Effectiveness, very much varies from year to year. It tends to be greatest in children. In children, the flu vaccine is generally somewhere between 60 and 75% effective in actually preventing flu illness altogether. In adults, the effectiveness tends to be lower, somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 to 55% varying from year to year.

This year, it's probably going to be toward that lower end in protecting the flu because the primary strain that's circulating is a new viral strain that emerged after we'd chosen the strains for this year's vaccine. But, even though the, the benefit in preventing illness altogether is less, the vaccine is still well expected to reduce the risk for severe influenza, which again is our primary goal.

Host: Well, speaking of timing, it is recommended to get flu shots before the flu season begins. What exactly is the best time to get vaccinated?

Robert Hopkins, MD: Thank you for that question, Amanda. You know, that's one of my favorite type of questions. It's the, what am I thinking question. What I mean by that is it really depends on who you are. For small children, for pregnant women, getting the flu vaccine as soon as vaccine is available is important because they have very robust immune systems and many children in their first season they're vaccinated, actually need two doses of vaccine.

So getting it early means you've got a better chance of getting both doses in. For people that are a bit older, say folks in their fifties, sixties, or later, people who have chronic medical conditions, I generally wait on flu vaccination until at least mid-September or early October, unless we are having an early season where we have lots of flu activity in the community before then. Remember that it takes about 10 days to two weeks for your body to mount a robust immune response from the vaccine. So you want to get the vaccine early enough to get that robust immune response ready to go before we start seeing flu.

Host: With the immune response, are there any common side effects from the flu shots? Are they generally considered safe for all age groups?

Robert Hopkins, MD: Flu shots are safe for all age groups. There are no common serious adverse events. Now, I think it's important to also emphasize that it's really common for you to have a sore arm after a vaccination. It's really common for people to feel a little achy, maybe even have a little bit of, of fever after they get a vaccine. That's an indication that your immune system is responding.

I don't consider that an adverse event. It is an event, but we need to recognize that that's part of our immune response. And I think if we expect that going in, we can help maybe, remove some of the misinformation out there that flu vaccines don't work and don't do anything beneficial and that they are harmful, because they're not.

Host: Yeah. I want to talk about some of the common misconceptions about the flu shot. Just earlier you mentioned pregnant women, and I was going to ask you if the shot is safe for pregnant women. It sounds like the answer is yes. Is there anyone who should not get vaccinated?

Robert Hopkins, MD: Really the only person that should not get a flu vaccine is somebody that's had an unusual, severe reaction to a previous vaccine. So if you have somebody that had a severe allergic reaction to a previous flu vaccine, they probably shouldn't get another flu vaccine or if they do, they probably need to be evaluated by an allergy specialist and have that done under controlled conditions.

But really the only people that should avoid getting a flu vaccine are those that have a severe reaction to a previous dose.

Host: Do flu vaccines ever cause the flu or is that a myth?

Robert Hopkins, MD: That is a myth. There is nothing live in the flu injections. The flu shots. Now in some people that choose to get the live attenuated, the nasal flu vaccine, that does have a strain that's been beaten down so, it can't cause full fledged flu, but people may get a cold like illness by taking that nasal flu vaccine.

Host: Are there other common misconceptions about the flu shot?

Robert Hopkins, MD: The ones that I hear very commonly are that the flu vaccine doesn't work. Yeah, the flu vaccine does work. It's not perfect. No vaccine, no tool that we have in healthcare is perfect, but the flu vaccine is certainly our best tool to prevent, severe influenza and influenza itself. The second one is, about flu itself, and that's the antibiotics work for the flu.

Antibiotics are treatments for bacterial infections. Antibiotics do not do anything for flu illness. That would also include anti-parasitic drugs, that also do not work. I've heard, people say that Ivermectin should work for flu. It doesn't. I commonly hear from people that they got the flu vaccine and they got sick that same-day, so they should never get another flu vaccine again.

Well, remember, we are in a situation, we're around to other people all the time. And so it's common for us to catch colds. It's common for us to not feel perfect. You add that on top of the mild stimulation of your immune system from getting the vaccine. The flu shot did not give you that illness.

Host: Well, Dr. Hopkins, thank you so much for breaking this down and explaining everything we need to know about the flu vaccine.

Robert Hopkins, MD: Well, you're certainly welcome. You know, I think it's important that we reemphasize here. You know, we live in a community. We need to help take care of each other, and so doing what we can to get ourselves vaccinated, getting our families vaccinated and those in our community vaccinated, helps to protect all of us and keep us all healthier. That should always be our first goal.

Host: And that will bring the overall rate of influenza down.

Robert Hopkins, MD: That's correct. That's correct.

Host: Thank you for your work on this, Dr. Hopkins. That was Dr. Robert Hopkins, Medical Director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at UAMS. To make an appointment at UAMS, call 501-686-8000. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you.

Thanks for listening to UAMS Health Talk, a podcast from the University of Arkansas for Medical sciences.