The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices updated influenza vaccine recommendations to now include children who are allergic to eggs.
Based on recommendations from the clinical immunization safety assessment hypersensitivity working group of the ACIP, the members voted during the meeting this week to recommend administration of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine to patients with a history of egg allergy. The recommendation will be included in the ACIP draft guidelines for use of influenza vaccines for the upcoming season.
“What we’re talking about here is giving an influenza vaccine to a patient, typically a child, who has a history of reacting to the ingestion of egg; patients who give convincing histories and for which we have evidence that they are allergic to eggs, and whether or not it’s OK to give them the influenza vaccine,” John Kelso, MD, of Scripps Clinic and the University of California, said. “What we’re not talking about here is evaluating a patient who has actually had a reaction to the influenza vaccine itself or any other vaccine.”
A major consideration of the working group was injecting egg-containing vaccines to those who are allergic to eggs, according to Kelso; however, further analysis of the data revealed no serious reactions in most of the studies.
“It’s likely that there is just not enough ovalbumin in the vaccine to cause a problem,” he said.
Source: Pediatric Supersite, 24th June 2011. http://www.pediatricsupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=85021
