Can You Really Get a Flu Shot If You Are Allergic to Eggs?

Are you still worried about your child’s egg allergy and getting them a flu vaccine?

That’s not surprising, as we once warned people about residual egg proteins in flu vaccines and the possibility of immediate hypersensitivity reactions in those with severe egg allergies.

Flu Vaccines and Egg Allergies

Of course, that advice has now changed, even though most flu vaccines are still prepared in chicken eggs.

“Recent studies have shown that even individuals with confirmed egg allergy can safely receive the flu vaccine. The Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics state that no special precautions are required for the administration of influenza vaccine to egg-allergic patients no matter how severe the egg allergy.”

Egg Allergy and the Flu Vaccine

In fact, it began to change in 2011, when we got the recommendation that it was okay to give flu shots to people with egg allergies, if they only get hives as their reaction. It was still recommended that those with more severe allergic reactions to eggs “be referred to a physician with expertise in the management of allergic conditions for further risk assessment before receipt of vaccine.”

Before that, we would sometimes do skin testing on high risk egg allergic kids, desensitization, or regular chemoprophylaxis.

In 2013, the recommendation changed so that those with severe allergic reactions to eggs should get their flu shot “by a physician with experience in the recognition and management of severe allergic conditions.”

The recommendations were again modified in 2016, removing the recommendation that egg-allergic flu vaccine recipients be observed for 30 minutes and that those with severe egg allergies “should be vaccinated in an inpatient or outpatient medical setting (including but not necessarily limited to hospitals, clinics, health departments, and physician offices), under the supervision of a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic conditions.”

Why the changing advice?

It’s because severe allergic reactions to vaccine are rare (in a million doses rare). And even in the flu vaccines that still use eggs, almost all of the egg protein is removed from the final vaccine. So that residual amount of egg protein is unlikely to trigger an allergic reaction. And that’s what we saw as the recommendations were slowly changed year after year.

Getting a Flu Shot When You Are Allergic to Eggs

And that’s why we have our current recommendations:

• Those with a history of egg allergy who only get hives can get any age-appropriate flu vaccine.
• Those with a history of egg allergy who have severe reactions, including angioedema, respiratory distress, lightheadedness, recurrent emesis, or who required epinephrine or another emergency medical interventions, can still get any age-appropriate flu vaccine, but they should get it in an inpatient or outpatient medical setting (such as a hospital, clinic, health department, or physician’s office). And the vaccine administration should be supervised by a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic reactions.
• Those who can eat eggs without reaction can get any age-appropriate flu vaccine.

Do you still have to be observed after getting your flu vaccine if you have an egg allergy?

No postvaccination observation period is recommended specifically for egg-allergic persons.

Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—United States, 2018–19 Influenza Season

Nope. But that’s likely because although they are rare, reactions might not occur right away.

So yes, you can and you should get a flu vaccine if you are allergic to eggs.

More on Flu Vaccines and Egg Allergies

• CDC – Flu Vaccine and People with Egg Allergies
• Influenza Vaccination of People with a History of Egg Allergy
• Why flu shots are safe for children with egg allergies
• Egg Allergy and the Flu Vaccine
• Is the Flu Vaccine Safe for People With Egg Allergy?
• MMWR – Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—United States, 2018–19 Influenza Season
• Influenza ACIP Vaccine Recommendations
• Egg-allergic patients can be safely vaccinated against influenza
• Recommendations for the administration of influenza vaccine in children allergic to egg.
• Study – Safety of live attenuated influenza vaccine in atopic children with egg allergy.
• Study – Safety of live attenuated influenza vaccine in young people with egg allergy: multicentre prospective cohort study.
• Study – Safe vaccination of patients with egg allergy by using live attenuated influenza vaccine.
• Current issues with influenza vaccination in egg allergy (old)