One of the biggest misconceptions about the flu shot is that since it often isn’t entirely successful in preventing an infection, it’s pointless to get one.

It is true that unlike a vaccine for measles or smallpox, which confers 100 per cent immunity, a jab for any of the various strains of flu — or even COVID-19 — is seldom a guarantee that you won’t get it.

However, a new research paper , published in the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection by McMaster University professors Matthew Miller and Mark Loeb, shows that a seasonal flu jab can cut your chances of developing a more serious condition after acquiring the flu by 55 per cent.

Miller, scientific director of the M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster, and Loeb, a professor of pathology and mol

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