After getting vaccinated, all you can do is hope for the best. Actually, there's plenty you can do. Wash your hands frequently and use a disinfectant to wipe down any shared spaces. If you notice that someone is sniffling, stay about 10 feet away and politely decline shaking hands with or hugging that person, Tierno suggests. And take care of yourself: Getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating a healthy diet will keep your immune system strong, helping to fend off germs.
[See Beyond College Immunizations: How Students Can Avoid Getting Sick.]
Only high-risk folks need the flu shot. False. Everybody needs it. The government recommends that all Americans 6 months and older get vaccinated. It's particularly important for young children, older people, and those with weakened immune systems. "Sometimes the vaccine isn't a perfect match, but at the very least, it provides partial protection," Schaffner says. "That's very important because it keeps a mild illness from turning into a serious one. We see gravely ill people coming into our ER and being sent to the intensive care unit because they weren't vaccinated. If they had been, they might have been at home miserable—but they wouldn't have been on a stretcher or [been] put on a ventilator."
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