Question: It is January and the starting of a new semester. Just as you get settled in to your new routine, you begin to notice that illness is spreading across campus and other students in your classes are so sick they do not come to virology class. People are saying that it’s the flu, and your friend describes having a fever, chills and body aches. It doesn’t sound fun, and you begin to wonder if you should have gotten your free flu shot when they were advertised at the Health Center last semester. You were just too busy at the time, and you’re not a big fan of needles, in any case. Besides, you had one friend last year that got the shot and still got the flu. You had another friend that said they got the flu from the vaccine. So, you are just a little leery of the whole idea. Because you are interested in biology, you decide to do a bit of research into the subject.
1. What are the components of the yearly influenza vaccine? How is it manufactured? How do you explain your friends’ experiences with the flu vaccine?
