James Madison University health researcher Sojib Zaman gets a flu shot every year because it works and "as someone working in public health, it is important to set a good example."  

Zaman, a health sciences professor who was listed in Stanford/Elsevier's “Top 2% Scientist Rankings” for three consecutive years (2022-2024), said getting the flu vaccine not only protects him, but the people around him, especially those who may be more vulnerable to the flu and its complications.  

While his current research focuses on vaccine hesitancy and acceptance, especially regarding COVID-19 vaccinations, he teaches about the flu in a class on chronic disease, infectious disease and epidemiology. “I believe it's crucial to help students understand how vaccines work, why they matter, and how we can increase vaccination rates, especially for seasonal illnesses like the flu,” he said.  

One of the most common misconceptions about the flu vaccine is that it can give someone the flu. "This is not true, as the vaccine contains either an inactivated virus or a small part of the virus that cannot cause illness," Zaman said.   

Another misconception is that people who are generally healthy don't need the vaccine, but even healthy people can become seriously ill from the flu, Zaman said.