Children with severe egg allergy can safely receive a single
dose of the seasonal influenza vaccine, a University of Michigan
study finds. None of the children with a history of anaphylaxis
to egg suffered an allergic reaction to the flu vaccine in the
study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Because the vaccine is cultured in chicken eggs, special
precautions were often taken when the vaccine administered to an
egg-allergic child, including conducting preliminary skin tests
and administering the vaccine in two half-doses. The study finds
these precautions are unnecessary. “[...] this study shows these
children, all of whom either had anaphylaxis or a severe
allergic reaction from egg, can tolerate the vaccine. That’s
important because we know it’s crucial that children get a
vaccine to avoid the flu, especially this year as we’ve seen
such an increase in cases and severity. The benefits outweigh
the risks”, says Matthew Greenhawt, MD, MBA, MSc, lead author of
the study and assistant p