Vaccinations - Flu and Covid

Hi LadyJayne,

I am having seasonal flu and Covid vaccinations. I would note that a stem cell transplant causes the patient to have the immune system of a newborn baby, so you would have zero immunity from past flu of Covid infections. Also, your lymphocytes, which are a key part of your protection from viruses, are likely to be very low after a stem cell transplant. 

In short, although I am not a medical professional, I suggest getting the vaccinations.

I asked Google Gemini about the risks of you not having a Covid vaccine:

"Without a COVID-19 vaccine, the main risks revolve around how severely your body reacts to the virus rather than whether you will encounter it.

​Because post-transplant recovery and low lymphocyte levels (lymphopenia) leave the immune system without its full viral defense team, an unvaccinated person in this context faces specific clinical risks:

​Higher Risk of Severe Illness and Hospitalization

• ​Lack of Immunologic Memory: Vaccines train T-cells and B-cells (lymphocytes) to recognize the virus's spike protein without causing disease. Without this baseline training, an initial exposure requires the immune system to build a defense from scratch—a process that takes days or weeks that a compromised immune system doesn't have.
• • ​Unvaccinated individuals who contract COVID-19 have a higher statistical risk of developing "Long COVID"—persistent symptoms like chronic fatigue, brain fog, and lingering cardiovascular or respiratory issues that can last for months or years.​Severe Lower Respiratory Infections: Unvaccinated individuals are significantly more likely to develop severe viral pneumonia, severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or require mechanical ventilation.
    • Secondary Bacterial Infections: Severe viral damage to lung tissue creates an environment where bacterial pneumonia can easily take hold—a danger that is compounded if neutrophil levels are also low.

    ​Higher Risk of Complications for Transplant Patients

    • • ​Organ Stress and Rejection Risk: A severe viral infection causes systemic inflammation throughout the body. In transplant recipients, this intense inflammatory response can strain organs
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        • ​Higher Mortality Rate: Clinical data shows that immunocompromised and transplant patients who are unvaccinated have substantially higher mortality rates from COVID-19 compared to those who are vaccinated, even if the vaccine produces a somewhat muted response in immunosuppressed bodies.

        ​Increased Chance of Long COVID

        ​Treatment Delays: Catching a severe case of COVID-19 often requires pausing or adjusting necessary immunosuppressive or post-transplant medications, which carries its own medical risks.
      • Higher Mortality Rate: Clinical data shows that immunocompromised and transplant patients who are unvaccinated have substantially higher mortality rates from COVID-19 compared to those who are vaccinated, even if the vaccine produces a somewhat muted response in immunosuppressed bodies.

    ​Increased Chance of Long COVID

    • • ​Unvaccinated individuals who contract COVID-19 have a higher statistical risk of developing "Long COVID"—persistent symptoms like chronic fatigue, brain fog, and lingering cardiovascular or respiratory issues that can last for months or years."

(Sorry - the format went a bit wrong)