Thread: Flu Shots
View Single Post
  #2  
Old Fri Aug 14, 2009, 05:16 PM
Neil Cuadra Neil Cuadra is offline
Owner
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 2,553
The flu shot vaccine is inactive (the virus is dead) so it can't cause the flu, but the nasal-spray flu vaccine contains an active virus so it shouldn't be given to anyone with a compromised immune system. The regular flu vaccine and the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine will be available in the fall, so patients should consult their doctors about it now.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that everyone, including the immunocompromised, get both vaccines in shot form. They don't recommend the nasal-spray version for anyone age 50 or older or anyone who is immunocompromised. See the CDC Seasonal Flu Shot and H1N1 question-and-answer pages.

The flu shots given to family members also protect the patient. My wife's doctor told me to make sure that I got the flu shot every year as soon as possible, and that our kids did too.
Reply With Quote