Almost half of Americans think flu shots can make you sick

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More than 40 percent of Americans believe the myth that flu vaccines can give you the flu, even though this is "biologically impossible," Reuters reports. The study also found that correcting the misconception about the vaccine may still fail to convince people to get vaccinated.

"When we defend our attitudes or beliefs against challenges, we can sometimes back ourselves further into those beliefs," said Brendan Nyhan, the lead author of the new study. "We probably overestimate how likely messaging is to change people minds about vaccines."