Flu Vaccine for People With Food Allergy

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) has issued a statement about egg allergy and the flu vaccine after re-examining three studies. The conclusion?

We need more studies.

And thus a multi-center clinical trial is presently underway in the US.

Really? We still don't have enough information on this?????

Now, there is some good news. Many vaccine manufacturers are listing the amount of ovalbumin (egg) on their inserts. This means doctors can seek out low ovalbumin vaccine for their egg allergic patients.

The other finding is that most people with egg allergy do tolerate the vaccine. However, the numbers of severely egg allergic subjects in the study was low, and so it is with caution that researchers can recommend the flu vaccine to this sub-group.

So, it makes sense to explore this again this year. Talk to your allergist. Can they get low egg vaccine? What are the risks vs the benefits of the vaccine? What have they seen in their practice so far this flu vaccine season?

At this point we've done what we always do- the rest of the family gets the vaccine in the hopes of protecting the non-vaccinated egg allergic family member. We see the allergist in two weeks, though, and this is on my list...

...again...

Is it so hard to come up with a flu vaccine without growing it on chicken eggs? Sigh...

Some related posts for those of you dealing with this for the first time:

Flu Vaccine Recommendations and Egg Allergy
Flu Vaccine for Egg Allergic
Still Confused About Egg Allergy and Flu Shots?
Guidelines for H1N1Vaccine and Egg Allergy
Flu Shot Season

Egg-Free H1N1 Vaccine

FluGen, Inc. has announced a cell-based production of flu vaccine that doesn't use egg in any part of production. Great news for those with egg allergy.

Read all about it.

The company hopes to ramp up production and have vaccine ready, "in the very near future".

My questions:

Will it be FDA approved for use in the United States?

Will there be a method for getting it to people with egg allergy first as they are unable, or at risk to get, the egg-based vaccines?

I'll keep you posted on this.

Flu Vaccine for Egg Allergic?

The Food Allergy Asssistant received many comments on the post related to HINI vaccine and egg allergy. There is much confusion and alarm for our children with egg allergies who are affected by the egg-based method for making flu vaccine. I've done more research and this is what I found:

There is much interest in a cell-based flu vaccine that would be safe for those with egg allergy.The technology currently used to make our chicken egg-based flu vaccine is over 50 years old.The new technology is animal cell based, rather than egg based. This process could save weeks in manufacture time and is less likely to become contaminated.

One company, Novartis, is close. They are building a plant in Holly Springs, NC with hopes of completion in 2010 or 2011. Novartis clinical trials of a cell based flu vaccine in the U.K. have been successful. The Wall Street Journal reports possible U.S. shipment of cell-based swine flu vaccine in December or January.

Let's keep in touch. We may be able to get cell-based flu vaccine this season. My hope would be that it goes to allergist offices first...

Check out this NY Times article regarding cell-based flu vaccine.