When a person's cold is over,how long does it take to put the flu shot ?

Hi Mary,

Your question isn't worded very clearly, but I'll answer what I think you're trying to ask. As you know, you shouldn't have a flu shot if you are sick, especially if you are sick with a respiratory illness, which will already have weakened your immune system and stressed your airways enough.

It's not that the flu shot can make you sick; on the contrary, it is made from dead flu virus, so there is no way you can catch the flu from a flu shot, despite many myths to the contrary. It's just that when you have asthma and you are sick, you don't want to do anything at all to upset the balance in your body.

Also, the flu vaccine might fail to be as effective in stimulating flu antibody growth, because your immune system is preoccupied with fighting off whatever infection you are dealing with.

So, you want to give your body a chance to recover from the cold before you do get the flu vaccine. That will usually take 1 to 2 weeks or so. I'd wait 2 just to be sure, if you can.

To your health,

Kathi