Flu season is already in full swing, and with it comes the seemingly relentless urging from medical practitioners to get the flu shot. While it may feel excessive at times, it's really the only thing they can do to prevent a potential flu outbreak. Flu vaccines are never 100% effective, but they're the best defense we have against a virus that impacts millions of Americans each year.

And yet people are still avoiding getting the vaccine. In fact, according to the CDC, less than half of Americans got the flu shot during the 2016-2017 flu season, and rates were similarly low the following season.

So why aren't people getting vaccinated despite strong recommendations from their medical practitioners? Much of the reason can be attributed to perpetuated misinformation and misconceptions about the flu shot and its effectiveness. With that in mind, here's a list of flu vaccine myths to set the record straight and help you feel better about inoculating yourself against the flu as soon as possible.

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After flu season starts, the flu vaccine won’t be as effective

It’s certainly helpful to get the flu vaccine in October when flu season is just beginning, but if you don’t get it until well after Thanksgiving, that doesn’t mean it will be any less effective. It simply means you were more susceptible to contracting the flu before then. The flu vaccine is beneficial as long as the flu virus is circulating, which is typically from the beginning of October through the end of March, but can extend all the way into May.

Pregnant women and people with pre-existing conditions shouldn’t get the flu vaccine

The CDC recommends that everyone get the flu vaccine each year (aka it won’t do harm to an unborn baby or exacerbate pre-existing conditions), but there are a few rare exceptions. People with moderate to severe illnesses should wait until they’ve recovered fully to get the vaccine. And people who’ve gotten Guillain-Barré Syndrome as a result of receiving the flu vaccine in the past and aren’t a high risk for the flu should avoid the vaccine.

The CDC also recommends that pregnant women get the flu shot rather than the nasal spray.

The flu vaccine can give you the flu

Many people believe that the flu shot consists of an active strain of the flu virus. This is inaccurate. The shot actually consists of either a flu virus that’s no longer active so it can’t infect you, or a single gene from a flu virus that’s enough to spark an immune response but not cause infection.

People still can get sick after getting the flu shot so it must not work that well

It is possible to get sick from another virus, like a cold or bronchitis, because the flu vaccine only protects against the flu. Symptoms of a bad cold can also look like the flu, so people might think they’ve contracted the flu when they haven’t.

You may also get the flu after you’ve gotten the vaccine because you actually contracted it shortly beforehand, or in the two weeks following, when the vaccine is still developing in your immune system.

Finally, the flu shot can only protect against one strain of the flu. It’s developed each year to fight the current most prolific strain of flu seen that year. However, there are a number of strains that you could end up being exposed to; the vaccine is simply giving you the best odds against the most common one.

The flu vaccine can cause autism

There used to be a compound in flu vaccines called Thiomerosal which, at one point, had been linked to autism, however, that theory was debunked long ago. Even so, Thiomerosal has since been taken out of flu vaccines, so it should no longer be a shadow of concern.

It’s not worth the trouble because getting the flu isn’t that bad

The 2017-2018 flu season killed and hospitalized more people than it had in decades, according to the CDC. 80,000 people died in the United States, which is almost 25,000 more than the previously record high. The main defense you have against it is a vaccine that’s free and accessible across the country. If you choose not to get the vaccine, you’re not just putting yourself at risk, you’re endangering everyone with whom you come in contact.

Know your flu risk. Check out the Flu Tracker on The Weather Channel App.