Vaccine myths fuel some stubborn consumer fears

One of the biggest problems vaccine manufacturers face is a widespread fear of their products. And even though much of that fear is completely baseless, it's hard to fight.

GlaxoSmithKline produced strong evidence of that in a poll conducted in Australia. One in five Australians say they avoid getting vaccinated because they're afraid that the jab will give them the virus it's intended to guard against.

"The fact is you cannot get influenza from the flu shot because the virus contained in it cannot cause infection," says GSK. "The mild flu-like symptoms people experience after a flu shot ... are, in fact, the signs that your body is hard at work mounting a response to protect you against the influenza virus."

The poll also found that women were better than men when it came to avoiding the kind of contact that could spread the flu, while two thirds of all the respondents said they steer clear of colleagues suffering from it.

- here's the story from the Sydney Morning Herald