Verdict: False
Influenza viruses can remain viable for up to 24 hours on nonporous surfaces, such as doorknobs, money, phones, light switches and office equipment, Bridges said. "They can survive for only a couple of hours on cloth."
She suggests that because these germs can survive for up to a day on frequently touched and shared surfaces, this provides ample opportunity to pick up these viruses -- and gives you a good reason to wash your hands and keep them away from your face.
Verdict: Usually false
When you have a good match between the circulating virus and the viruses used to make the vaccine, you generally see a 70 percent to 90 percent protection rate or benefit, Bridges said.
But some years the vaccine is not well matched: In 2007, she explained, the flu shot had a 44 percent effectiveness rate because there was an unanticipated drift in one of the circulating strains when the flu vaccine was formulated earlier that year.
But the effectiveness can also vary depending on the age and the health of the person getting the flu shot.
Younger, healthier people tend to have higher rates of protection from the vaccine because they have a higher antibody response to it. As you get older, your immune system is not as efficient as it once was and it's less likely to give as strong an immune response.
Also, Bridges says that in years when the flu vaccine is a strong match, the effectiveness rates for it in older adults and in those who are immunocompromised is closer to 60 percent
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