[mills3186]

You also have to consider that in fall and winter, when people get the flu shot, there is increased illness like common colds. So sometimes it's coincidental. After 25 years in medicine, the common misconceptions I saw were that people thought it would prevent stomach flu or the common cold. Influenza is almost always solely respiratory, accompanied by pretty good fever, bad headache, cough and body aches (it doesn't). An allergic reaction such as hives can be managed with Benadryl, otherwise not much can be done for any other side effects.