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    Navigate: FAQ Home Page > General Health Questions > Flu Shot
    Posted on: 02/08/2010

    Question

    Just today, I recieved both the H1N1 vaccine and the flu shot. I'm 13 years old. Since I'm still young and recieved both shots at the same time, does that leave me more susceptible to contracting either H1N1 or the flu?

    Answer

    Let's take this one point at a time. School-aged kids, like you, were definitely more likely to get the H1N1 flu. The highest attack rate from H1N1 flu was in the five to 14-year-old age group. Nonetheless, the vast majority of the kids who got H1N1 did fine. On the other hand, kids under one year had a very high hospitalization rate. So while the these young kids were less likely to get H1N1, they got sicker when they got it.

    Getting both shots at the same time is fine, and would not result in you being more susceptible to either virus.

    By the way, H1N1 is actually a flu virus too but was different enough from the usual seasonal flu virus to cause the pandemic that started last April.


    Answered By:
    Charles Weiss , M.D.


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