Certain flu vaccine not safe for asthmatics
Electron microscope image of the H1N1 influenza virus. Photo: CDC
In a September 15, 2009, update on swine flu vaccines, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that live attenuated influenza vaccines should not be given to people with asthma. The CDC announced that four manufacturers were given approval for swine flu (H1N1) vaccines, one of which is a live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) manufactured by MedImmune LLC.
The MedImmune vaccine is approved for persons aged 2 to 49 years, but should not be used to vaccinate certain children and adults, including those with underlying medical conditions that confer a higher risk for influenza complications or children younger than 5 years with one or more episodes of wheezing in the past year, the CDC wrote.
A footnote warned that the vaccine should not be used by asthmatics. It further read:
“Health-care providers should consult the medical record, when available, to identify children aged 2–4 years with asthma or recurrent wheezing that might indicate asthma. In addition, to identify children who might be at greater risk for asthma and possibly at increased risk for wheezing after receiving LAIV, parents or caregivers of children aged 2–4 years should be asked: ‘In the past 12 months, has a health-care provider ever told you that your child had wheezing or asthma?” Children whose parents or caregivers answer “yes” to this question and children who have asthma or who had a wheezing episode noted in the medical record during the preceding 12 months should not receive LAIV.’
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
