Flu shot

Question

My son (16 months) has a genetically determined mild form of CF. Fortunately, he is not particularly prone to respiratory infections. Until now, he has only had bronchitis three times, all of which occurred after the three shots. His immune system seems to be weakened substantially by the vaccinations, but to be pretty strong otherwise. Now I am wondering whether the flu shot generally recommended with CF makes sense in his case. Of course, I am scared that he will get an infection which he would otherwise not have.

Answer

Dear questioner,

I take it from your question that you are wondering about the risks, but also about the necessity of a flu shot with your 16-month-old son. Particularly, the fact that your child had bronchitis after each of the last three routine shots makes you doubt whether you should indeed get the recommended flu shots. Generally speaking, anyone might react to a vaccination with unspecific symptoms such as bronchitis – which, however, suggests that the immune system has been stimulated rather than weakened by the shot. With flu shots, too, there is a huge number of inoculated people who show those unspecific symptoms, which point to the fact that the immune system is dealing with the vaccine. Other risks are so rare that they can be neglected particularly in the case of flu shots.

As you will know, there are multiple viruses that can trigger the flu. The vaccination, however, only protects you from those that are assumed to be the cause of the most severe forms of the disease. In order to prevent the most severe form, which can lead to chronic damage of the bronchia, it is recommended for all CF patients older than six months to get a flu shot. Since every year there is a different set of viruses coming to the fore which cause the severe form of the flu, the shot has to be repeated annually with the current vaccine.

I hope this answer helps.

Kind regards

E. Rietschel

26.01.2009