Flu vaccines

I was told that if my immune system was in anyway compromised I should stay away from our 4 granddaughters for 2 weeks following their vaccinations….. so the following year they all got jabs instead.

Hi again Linnyshaw 

I did not have time to look out some information for you but the text below is taken from the Cancer Research Website......

Adults

It is safe to be in contact with people who have had the flu vaccine as an injection if you have a severely weakened immune system.

Children

Some pre school and primary school children have the flu vaccine as a nasal spray.  Avoid close contact with children who have had the nasal spray if you have a severely weakened immune system. You should do so for 2 weeks following their vaccination.

The nasal spray contains a live but weakened form of the flu vaccine. So there is a very small chance that the vaccine virus could be passed on to you and cause flu if you have a severely weakened immune system.

The injection does not contain a live form, so these precautions do not apply to contact with people who have had the injection.

Ask your healthcare team whether you must avoid contact with children who have had the nasal spray flu vaccine.

I see you have put up a post to our Nurse Team but it can take up to 3 working days for them to get back to you.

If you are in any way concerned you should call your CNS or Clinical Team for guidance ((hugs)) 

thank you for your reply,

i suppose at 16 weeks post chemo it is questionable if that would be classed as a severely weakened immune system. I'm guessing it wouldn't be because i have read that the white blood count returns to normal at approx 14 days post chemo. 

I haven't yet received my flu vaccine they are not available to me until after the 3/10/24 

i am getting conflicting information. The nurses who administer my Herceptin injections say stay clear from the vaccine and the children, but my consultant has said because i am no longer receiving Chemo i am ok to continue working with the children, he's referred me to this link 

Children's flu vaccine - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

saying that it is very clear who needs to avoid contact (i can't see it myself :( )

It can be confusing…… my immune system was severely compromised for a good year after my last treatment and even now, 9 years out from my last treatment I can catch infections by just looking at them …… my WBC regularly sits at the bottom of the acceptable range so I do have to be carful…… but you need to go with your gut.

I was teaching snotty nosed teenagers (Further Education) for 12 years during the first years after my diagnosis (1999) so was always catching colds so the windows were wide open even during the winter