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News about swine flu virus, (H1N1) continues to be a headliner for medical media. According to health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), H1N1 flu vaccine should be available in the coming weeks. But they recommend getting the seasonal flu vaccine as soon as it is ava...
is it true that sometime receiving vaccines can trigger the disease that you are trying to avoid in the first place?
Hi dt,
Thank you for your question. There are different types of vaccines. Some are made of killed virus particles, while others are live viruses that have been impaired so that they cannot cause the full disease. On a rare occasion, the vaccine that has live, impaired virus may cause significant illness that is much like the disease you are trying to avoid.
The seasonal flu vaccine which is injected (most often used) is a split virus product (which means there is no whole virus in it) that contains no live virus component. This killed virus vaccine cannot give you the flu. There will be a comparable H1N1, killed virus, vaccine for injection.
The other seasonal flu vaccine which contains live, but impaired, virus particles is given as a nasal inhalation. I think a live H1N1 is being processed also. Although the vaccines containing the live, impaired particles may sometimes cause more flu-like symptoms, they rarely cause full blown flu syndrome.
Best Wishes,
J. Thompson, MD