LITTLE ROCK, AR -- It's not the best two seconds in your life, but getting the flu shot protects you from feeling much worse. It may keep you alive!
The Pulaski County Health Unit in Jacksonville welcomed anybody Friday who needed to get the vaccine, with or without insurance.
"I was shivering but it didn't hurt," Rebecca Brown said.
Brown said the anticipation is what brings on the fear. But with so many of her friends out sick, she had to come in.
"They've been getting like throat problems and they haven't been coming to school and missing work. I hate makeup work," she said.
Even though it's a quick process, nurses say fear of the shot is keeping many people from getting vaccinated. That's likely the reason the numbers of infected continue to climb.
"As far as going out into the community, we can't really protect ourselves against it. The best way is the flu vaccine," said Rebecca Miller, the nursing coordinator at the clinic.
The flu vaccine keeps you from the flu, but you can still get a cold. That's why health experts recommend you still wash your hands often, and when you're done, turn the faucet off using a paper towel.
"It didn't hurt but I felt it. I just didn't want to feel it," Basia Brown said.
Basia Brown's sisters had to console her as she got the shot but she doesn't regret it.
If you're still uneasy about getting the vaccine, it may a message from a twelve-year-old to change your mind.
"If I can do it, they can do it and I'm only 12," Rebecca Brown said.
