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Get your vaccinations
But check with your physician first
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirm that each year about 36,000 die from complications stemming from influenza. As you know, pemphigus and pemphigoid are chronic diseases, and if patients are taking prednisone—and for up to a year after prednisone is fully tapered—their immune system is suppressed.
Patients with chronic disease and/or a suppressed immune system are routinely urged by public health officials to get flu shots to avoid the potentially deadly results from a flu virus.
Prednisone patients should avoid nasal spray vaccine, or any vaccine that uses a live virus, such as LAIV/FluMist®. FluMist was just recently approved for use on most children.
A live virus is likely to cause the flu in patients with a weak or suppressed immune system. The polio and tuberculosis vaccines are use a live virus and are not recommended. Patients are urged to avoid contact with persons who recently had a vaccination with a live virus.
Patients who have not had a flu vaccine in the past are cautioned that some people are allergic to it. Persons with a severe allergy (i.e., anaphylactic allergic reaction) to hens’ eggs are not recommended to get flue shots without a doctor’s approval. The allergic reaction can be life-threatening. Patients on prednisone are also cautioned to avoid anyone who has recently used any live virus as they may be contagious. Oral polio and tuberculosis vaccines are examples of a live virus.
The CDC lists these groups as priority patients for flu vaccine:
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all children aged 6–23 months; w adults aged 65 years and older;
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persons aged 2–64 years with underlying chronic medical conditions;
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all women who will be pregnant during the influenza season;
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residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities;
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children aged 6 months–18 years on chronic aspirin therapy;
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healthcare workers involved in direct patient care; and
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out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children under 6 months.
Other vaccination recommendations:
Persons in priority groups should be encouraged to search locally for vaccine if their regular healthcare provider does not have any available.
Intranasally administered, live, attenuated influenza vaccine, if available, should be encouraged for healthy persons who are aged 5–49 years and are not pregnant, including healthcare workers (except those who care for severely immunocompromised patients in special care units) and persons caring for children aged under 6 months.
Certain children under 9 years of age require 2 doses of vaccine if they have not previously been vaccinated. All children at high risk for complications from influenza, including those aged 6–23 months, who present for vaccination, should be vaccinated with a first or second dose, depending on vaccination status.