Flu Season Misinformation

10 Articles

Inoculate yourself against bogus medical claims.

Alex Kasprak

Published 4 October 2019

Image via Alan Thornton/Getty Images, stock

With fall comes flu season, and with that a slew of misinformation, rumors, or misconceptions about influenza and the flu shot. Here’s a look back at claims from flu seasons past:

Should You Avoid Getting a Flu Shot? It’s flu season, and that means a whole new wave of recycled anti-vaccine fearmongering.

Less Effective Flu Shots ‘Prove’ You Shouldn’t Get Them at All? Dubious websites are attempting to use a season in which the influenza vaccine is less...

Did the Flu Shot Cause This Year’s Flu Epidemic? This claim is based on the incorrect interpretation of single quote from one nurse in...

Did the DOJ Admit the Flu Shot Is the “Most Dangerous” Vaccine in America? The FBI issues a "Most Wanted Fugitives" list, but the DOJ has no equivalent for...

Can Tamiflu Cause Children to Become Homicidal? Psychiatric problems are possibly associated with the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu, but causation and association are...

Is Tamiflu Causing Increased Deaths from Flu? Tamiflu is not responsible for the high number of flu season deaths, even if its...

Was a Healthy Nine-Year-Old Girl Paralyzed by a Flu Shot? The story of a heartbreaking illness following a routine flu shot has been used to...

Did a CDC Doctor Say the Flu Shot Is Causing a Deadly Outbreak? A disreputable web site used an unsourced and fabricated quote to link deaths from the...

Was the Body of a CDC Doctor Who ‘Exposed’ the Flu Shot Found Floating in a River? A missing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doctor was found dead, but he was...

Did Melania Trump Ban White House Staff from Taking Flu Shots? “I will not allow incubators of dangerous viruses to come anywhere near my son,” the...