Is the flu shot safe for you and your loved one?
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Highlights
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Every year at this time, and sometimes even earlier, the debate begins: To get or not to get the flu shot? For people with cancer and for their caregivers, the answer is generally “Get it.” Unless they are allergic to chicken eggs (where flu vaccines are cultured), people with cancer and those living with or caring for them should be vaccinated against the influenza virus. There’s a simple reason: People in treatment for cancer commonly have weakened immune systems. If these people were to get the flu, it could be very serious, possibly even life threatening. Currently, the flu shot is the best means of flu prevention.
Safety Tip: Always speak to your personal physician about whether or not you should get the flu shot, when to do it, and whether or not it will conflict with other medications.
The flu shot does not cause the flu.
Many people are afraid the flu shot will cause them to get the flu. This is a commonly held belief, but it is a myth. The flu shot will not give someone the flu.
Some people do experience symptoms – low-grade fevers or achy muscles – after a flu shot, but these are only temporary. They are caused by the immune system reacting to the flu shot and they will go away in a day or so.
Choose the shot over the nasal mist.
CDC Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends:
- People with a high risk of developing complications from the flu should get vaccinated before the flu season begins – preferably in October or earlier, and through December. This includes anyone with a weakened immune system due to cancer treatment with x-rays (radiation) or drugs (chemotherapy). Those who are seriously ill should talk to their doctor before getting vaccinated.
- Anyone who lives with or cares for a person at high risk for flu-related complications should get the flu shot, too.
Both types of flu vaccine work the same way. They cause the body to make antibodies that protect it against influenza virus infection. But, for people with cancer, and for their household members and caregivers, there is only one choice: the shot. Here’s a quick look at the differences between the two types of vaccine:
- The nasal mist: As painless and easy as the new nasal mist may be, people with cancer should not be vaccinated this way and should not be in close proximity to people who have been given the nasal mist. That’s because the nasal mist is a “live” vaccine – one that is made up of weakened live virus. Since people with cancer have weakened immune systems, they should not receive vaccines that contain live virus. Serious infections could develop if live vaccines are given.
- The shot: This should be the choice for people with cancer and for those living in their households. The flu shot is considered an “inactivated” vaccine – one that is made up of killed virus. It will not give someone the flu and it will not cause infection in someone with cancer. It will, however, prevent the flu.
How should one take the flu shot?
It takes up to 2 weeks after the shot for protection to develop, so the flu shot is usually given at least 2 weeks before the start of chemotherapy or between chemo cycles.
People caring for and living with someone with cancer should coordinate their injections with that of the person with cancer to insure maximum protection for that person.
The flu shot can also be given 6 months after a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, and every year after that.
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