Maternal Flu Shots Unrelated to Allergic or Autoimmune Disease Diagnosis

The PLOS Medicine journal recently published a peer-reviewed study that supports the safety of seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine during pregnancy concerning allergic and autoimmune diseases in early childhood.

Published on April 5, 2022, this information from Australia is reassuring and reinforces current maternal vaccine programs and policies, said these researchers.

'While we identified a negative association for asthma and anaphylaxis when the flu shot was administered later in pregnancy, our findings are only generalizable to more severe events requiring hospitalization or presentation to the emergency department.'

'We observed no other associations between prenatal exposure to seasonal IIV and allergic or autoimmune diseases in children up to five years.'

'These results contribute to the gap in knowledge of the potential child health impacts of maternal influenza vaccination on the development of allergic or autoimmune diseases in childhood and support the safety and continuation of existing maternal vaccination programs and policies.'

In the U.S., the CDC suggests flu shots are appropriate for most people over the age of six months.

An updated listing of influenza vaccines, vaccine candidates, and related research is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/Flu.

This research was supported in part by funding received from the National Health and Medical Research Council and other non-industry sources. The researchers did not disclose material industry conflicts.

Note: This study was edited for clarity and manually curated for mobile readers.