Immunizations - Smallpox

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People at risk for more serious flu infections include those who:

• Are 50 or more years of age
• Are 6 months to 18 years of age
• Are age 2 through 49 with a chronic medical condition
• Have chronic lung disease, including asthma and COPD, or heart disease
• Are 18 years old or younger AND taking long-term aspirin therapy
• Have sickle cell anemia or other hemoglobin-related disorders
• Have kidney disease, anemia, diabetes, or chronic liver disease
• Have a weakened immune system (including those with cancer or HIV/AIDS)
• Receive long-term treatment with steroids for any condition
• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during the flu season. Women who are pregnant should receive only the inactivated flu vaccine. (Vaccinations should usually be given after the first trimester. Exceptions may be women who are in their first trimester during flu season, because their risk from complications of the flu is higher than any theoretical risk to the baby from the vaccine)

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The following people should also be sure to get a flu vaccine every year:

• Health care workers
• Household contacts and caregivers of children or adults with high-risk conditions (Breast-feeding women may receive the vaccine.)
• Residents of extended care facilities
• People who have in-home contact with children who are younger than 5 years old
• People who provide essential community services, such as firefighters or police
• People living in dormitories or other crowded conditions

The flu shot is also now globally recommended for:

• Everyone 6 months of age or older, including all otherwise healthy adults ages 18 - 50

Side Effects

Possible side effects of the flu vaccine include:

• Allergic Reaction. Newer vaccines contain very little egg protein, but an allergic reaction still may occur in people with strong allergies to eggs.
• Soreness at the Injection Site. Up to two-thirds of people who receive the influenza vaccine develop redness or soreness at the injection site for 1 or 2 days afterward.
• Flu-like Symptoms. Some people actually experience flu-like symptoms, called oculorespiratory syndrome, which include conjunctivitis, cough, wheeze, tightness in the chest, sore throat, or a combination. Such symptoms tend to occur 2 - 24 hours after the vaccination and generally last for up to 2 days. It should be noted that these symptoms are not the flu itself but an immune response to the virus proteins in the vaccine. (Anyone with a fever at the time the vaccination is scheduled, however, should wait to be immunized until the ailment has subsided.)
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Isolated cases of a paralytic illness known as Guillain-Barre syndrome have occurred, but if there is any higher risk following the flu vaccine, it is very small (one additional case per 1 million people), and does not outweigh the benefits of the vaccine.

Review Date: 10/12/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).