Labor Day has come and gone here in the U.S. Now, flu season has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. This isn’t the novel coronavirus we’ve been fighting all year. It’s the regular seasonal flu virus that’s knocking on our door again.
Each year, some people with multiple sclerosis wonder if they should get a flu shot. My wife and I have been getting one for as long as I can remember. We’ve never had a problem other than an occasional sore arm. We’ve never come down with the flu.
My neurologist and our primary care physician both recommend getting the flu vaccine. So do MS organizations, including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the U.S. and the MS Society in the U.K. And this year, because of the possibility of a double-whammy virus season, doctors say the flu vaccine is more necessary than ever.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has even posted a large notice on the top of its Key Facts About Seasonal Flu website page:
The vaccine is helpful, not harmful, according to the CDC. The agency writes, “There is no evidence that getting a flu vaccine increases your risk of getting sick from a coronavirus, like the one that causes COVID-19.”
There had been a report of an association between the flu vaccination and COVID-19, but a Canadian study published in May puts that to rest and supports the CDC’s position.
“Vaccine significantly reduced the risk of influenza illness by >40% with no effect on coronaviruses or other NIRV [noninfluenza respiratory virus] risk,” researchers wrote.
Guidelines give flu shot OK for most people with MS
Last year, the American Academy of Neurology updated its flu vaccine guidelines, making it clear that, with very few exceptions, the benefits of flu and other vaccines for people with MS far outweigh any risks. But, the AAN guidelines caution:
- A flu shot may not work as well as expected for some people who are receiving particular disease-modifying treatments, such as Gilenya (fingolimod), Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection), and Novantrone (mitoxantrone for injection concentrate).
- MS patients should delay scheduling a vaccination during a relapse to avoid the possibility that the vaccine might trigger complications.
- Do not use the nasal spray flu vaccine, FluMist, as it contains a “live, attenuated” virus, which isn’t recommended for people with MS.
A half-dozen varieties of flu vaccine are available this season and, unlike some other years, the CDC isn’t expressing a preference. But as the AAN guidelines say, people with MS should not use a live virus vaccine. This means no nasal vaccine for us.
Flu vaccines help others, too
Getting a flu vaccine is more than just a matter of protecting yourself.
“Historically, less than half of Americans get flu vaccines,” CDC Director Robert Redfield told Time in June. “This is the year that I’m asking the American public to seriously reconsider, because that decision may make available a hospital bed for somebody else that really needs it for COVID.”
Not everyone will agree with recommendations to get a flu shot. Not everyone agrees with the recommendation of public health officials to wear a face mask, either. But both are the right thing to do.
(A version of this post first appeared as my column on the MS News Today website).
(Featured image courtesy U.S. Centers for Disease Control).
(Check out my new ebook: “We’re Not Drunk, We Have MS…A toolkit for living with multiple sclerosis.” It’s available here.)
