Flu Shots OK for People With Egg Allergy

Currently, we recommend Flu shot (influenza vaccine) to all children above 6 months old. This article should be able to reassure the parents whose children has egg allergy:

For years, people with egg allergy were told to avoid the flu vaccine because it contains egg protein and could trigger a reaction, but this advice no longer stands. People with egg allergies can -- and should -- get the flu shot this year, according to a new report by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Why the change?
"We now know with confidence that most people with egg allergy can receive the flu shot without reaction," says the report’s author, James T. Li, MD, PhD, an allergist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
There is a "detectable, but very low" amount of egg protein in the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines, and studies have shown that the majority of people with egg allergy do not have an allergic reaction to the flu shot, he says.
"The number of reactions wasn't zero, but it was low, and most reactions were not serious," Li tells WebMD.
Caution is still advised in certain scenarios. For example, there is still some question on whether people with severe egg allergy can receive the flu shot, he says.

We hope those children with allergy also get to enjoy the benefits of flu shots.