Get Your Flu Shot!

In the course of researching potential infectious etiologies of autism, in conjunction with being enrolled in the Infectious Disease & Vaccinology division of Berkeley's School of Public Health, I've learned quite a bit about vaccines in a relatively short time. While I won't be developing any vaccine patents yet (or ever), I can dispel some myths and put forth a quick primer on vaccines for anyone that actually cares...

The two myths I hate: (1) vaccines (particularly MMR vaccine) can cause autism, and (2) getting your seasonal flu shot can actually give you the flu.

(1) Autism is a complex phenomenon for which the etiology (cause) has yet to be identified. It is likely a combination of genetic predisposition triggered by certain environmental factors, possibly certain viral infections while the child is in utero. In 1998 a British study was put forth hypothesizing a link between Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine (MMR). In an article published this year by Jeffery Gerber and Paul Offit of the Infectious Disease Division at Philadelphia Children's Hospital, titled Vaccines & Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses, Gerber and Offit thoroughly point out the many flaws in the original British study. Their article goes further in citing numerous studies which have found no link between autism and vaccines, as shown in the table below...

Put very simply, the erroneous link between austim and MMR vaccine is due to timing. Most children are vaccinated for MMR at roughly the same time that parents first notice symptoms of the disease (between 1-2 years) and the vaccine thus becomes an easy target for blame. Gerber and Offit go on to dispel the myths concerning thimerasol (an eythlmercury additive in some vaccines) and 'too many vaccines for children' causing autism in an equally convincing manner.

(2) Seasonal influenza vaccines can come in two forms: a trivalent (3 strains of flu), killed-vaccine and an orally administered attenuated vaccine.

• Trivalent killed vaccine comes in the form of an injection and contains killed flu virus elements from three strains (H3N2, seasonal H1N1, and B) which helps the body to produce antibodies to fight these strains if encountered. A killed vaccine cannot make a person sick with the flu. You have an equal chance of being killed by a dead person (yes, I know, what about zombie attack? I'll discuss that in another post).
  
• An attenuated vaccine is one where the virus has been weakened, but not killed. Attenuated vaccine for influenza is administered via an oral mist. It is possible, however unlikely, to get sick from an attenuated vaccine. As such, attenuated vaccines are not administered to children under 2, adults over 50, or to the immuno-compromised. For those to whom it can be administered, it most often provides a more robust immunological response, meaning better protection.
  

Do note that while your flu shot cannot make you sick with influenza, there is the possibility for side effects, depending on how the individual reacts to injections in general (redness, soreness, swelling at the point of injection) and in the case of certain allergies (flu vaccines are grown in chicken eggs). What everyone must consider is the fact that most people receive their flu shot between late September and mid-October, a period when a host of other respiratory ailments (such as the common cold) are beginning their high rate of circulation in the northern hemisphere. Much like autism and MMR, the percentage of individuals coming down with a respiratory ailment that is not actually influenza in the period immediately following vaccination is high enough to allow for this misconception to perpetuate.

So... get your shots.

*H1N1 vaccine will be discussed in the coming week(s)