By: Nicole Blazek
20 October 2010
Patients who have egg allergies can safely receive seasonal influenza vaccines with the assistance of their allergist, according to new recommendations from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
“The time to withhold the influenza vaccine due to one’s egg allergy has passed,” Matthew Greenhawt, MD, a guideline coauthor and clinical lecturer at the University of Michigan Health System, told The Clinical Advisor.
Previously, adults and children with known egg allergies were administered a vaccine skin test to determine the likelihood of an allergic reaction.
If the test results were negative, a clinician would administer a single recommended dose for age. If the test results were positive, the clinician would use a step-wise approach, administering the first 10% of the recommended dose, followed by a 30-minute observation period before administering the remaining 90%.
(Note from SaneVax: This re-evaluation occurred because of the 2009/10 ‘Swine Flu pandemic.’ This evaluation is based on limited data and assumed to be safe for most people with egg allergies. Please have a serious conversation with your allergist prior to consenting to a flu vaccine if you have a history of egg allergies.)
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