Flu season and living with HIV

October 2007     View PDF     En español

What about flu shots?

Getting a flu shot will help protect and/or reduce the symptoms of specific strains of the flu. It takes about two weeks for your body to become protected by making antibodies to it. Some people may feel fatigue and muscle ache from the shot. Flu shots do not give you the flu.

People with CD4 cell counts below 200 may have a weaker antibody response to a flu shot. However, many experts still recommend those at high risk for flu complications get vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends flu shots for the following people at high risk for complications from the flu:

• children six months to six years old;
• pregnant women or women who are planning a pregnancy during flu season;
• people with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease and HIV/AIDS;
• people 50 years and older;
• people who live, work or volunteer in health care facilities; and
  people with close contact with someone in a high-risk group.

Some people are not recommended to get a flu shot, such as those with a severe allergy to hens’ eggs or a history of onset of Guillain-Barre Syndrome shortly after getting another vaccination. It’s recommended that people living with HIV (or other immune suppression) should not get the live virus flu vaccine sold as FluMist. Although no firm data exist, some recommend avoiding close contact for two weeks with those who have taken FluMist to avoid possible exposure to the live virus. In general, healthy people between 5 and 49 years of age can use FluMist.

A flu vaccine clinic locator is available online from the American Lung Association. Visit www.flucliniclocator.org to enter your zip code and date and then receive information about clinics scheduled in your area.

For more information about the flu and living with HIV, call Project Inform’s HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Hotline at 1-800-822-7422.