Adolescent Health in Myanmar
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28 May, 2019
Severe egg allergies may affect how you get the flu vaccine
With a deadly flu season taking hold in Australia, medical researchers including Burnet Institute’s Emeritus Professor Gregory Tannock have shared their expertise to address misconceptions about the influenza vaccination.
In an article published on ABC News Online, Professor Tannock said people receiving the flu vaccine will be asked about an egg allergy.
“About 90 per cent of influenza vaccines use, as starting materials, influenza viruses grown in the allantoic sac of 10- to 11-day-old fertile eggs,“ Professor Tannock said.
Professor Tannock says the vaccine cultivated in eggs is because a virus needs to infect a cell to reproduce.
This can result in residual egg protein in the flu vaccine. Fortunately, most people who are born with an egg allergy outgrow it by the time they reach primary school age.
The amount of egg protein used in making the vaccine, Professor Tannock says, is less than one microgram per dose.
For people who have an anaphylactic reaction to eggs, vaccinations are administered in a medical facility where they can be monitored afterwards.
Image: Only a small amount of egg protein is used in making the vaccine
Other questions on the flu vaccine answered:
Read the full article here
For more information in relation to this news article, please contact:
Emeritus Professor, Burnet Institute Visiting Fellow