Asthmatics and swine flu dose

[luvwinnie]

I am not sure why the meds we take (inhaled steroids I assume?) would interfere with THIS vaccine and not others...don't asthmatics get regular doses of other vaccines? I got the same pneumovax dose as non-asthmatics.

Feds study swine flu vaccine dose for asthmatics

Associated Press - October 20, 2009 9:25 AM ET

CLEVELAND (AP) - The federal government has begun a study of how much swine flu vaccine to give to people with asthma.

Asthma sufferers are considered a group at higher risk of complications from swine flu, but medication taken by many asthmatics may interfere with the vaccine. Dr. Serpil Erzurum, the study coordinator at the Cleveland Clinic, says the goal is to find the right dosage for them.

Doctors vaccinated the Clinic's first participant in the research on Monday.

The study also is being conducted at Emory University in Atlanta; the University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute; the University of Virginia; the University of Wisconsin; Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Washington University in St. Louis.

 

[luvmy3]

I hadn't heard this.

My ds has asthma, takes a daily controller med and has never had an issue with any other vaccine. He gets the seasonal flu shot every year and this concern was never brought up. I'm wondering just what it is that makes the H1N1 different.

Thanks for the heads up

 

[minniebeth]

luvwinnie, thanks for sharing this! I feel so overwhelmed now. I've been trying to follow a lot of the H1N1 news and information, and everytime I feel like I get a handle on it, it constantly changes. I don't know which end is up, having 2 high risk kids in this category. You can't even rely on doctors anymore either, they don't know either and are so afraid to say the wrong thing either way, so they throw their hands up with it. (At least this is my experience with it...)
Where's luvorlando? She's gonna flip when she reads this (I mean that in a supportive way, ((hugs)) )...and I agree with luvmy3, I don't know why it would be different from the regular flu vaccine, which my kids have yearly with no problems.

 

[luvwinnie]

I have also recently found out that being on ENbrel for psoriatic arthritis means vaccines may not even WORK for me. Great!

 

[Denine]

From what I read in the paper yesterday, we (asthmatics on steroids) may not fully develop an immune response to the H1N1 vaccine. I don't know why this isn't a problem with other vaccines other than we have not had any exposure to this virus.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

I hadn't heard this, but was thinking that maybe it's because the current H1N1 vaccine is the mist, given through the nose. I wonder if the inhaled steroids might kill off the live virus in the respiratory tract, making the vaccine innefective???
If that is the case, I hope that come out with an injectible H1Ni vaccine FAST, cause this is a group that really needs it!

 

[luvwinnie]

actually Asthmatics cannot get the mist at all. The trial is for the shot.

 

[luvwinnie]

If anyone is interested in participating in the trial:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00978120?term=H1N1+AND+asthma&rank=1

I can't since i Have an autoimmune disease.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Well steroids help Asthmatics because it inhibits the immune systems response. The inflammation and extra mucus Asthmatics struggle with are triggered by their immune systems so by derailing their immune response the disease is short circuited. But the majority of Asthmatics take inhaled cortico-steroids which are supposed to be minimally invasive systemically, at least when compared to an oral steroid like Prednisone. I would imagine they are checking to see if even the mild amount of steroids present in the blood stream from daily inhaled dosing is enough to inhibit the immune response necessary to prevent disease via vaccine.

Just out of curiosity, shouldn't the effect of these steroid treatments on this particular population with regard to immunization have been tested BEFORE we were faced with such an enormous public health crisis? I mean, how hard would it have been to keep track of titers on Asthmatics before today?

I have been crying out for these kids to be looked at since this all hit. It is unconscionable that they were ignored up until now. I even complained back when their best weapon of defense, the albuterol inhalers available for $4 before 12/31/2008 were pulled from the shelves for not being green enough. Now we have millions of people out there who are extremely vulnerable with poor drug availability, due to expense, and quite possibly even less likely to be successfully vaccinated.

The poorest communities are going to be hardest hit and the main reason will be the lack of drug availability. What do you think is going to happen as these kids get sick, the hospitals fill up and the cheap drugs are no longer attainable for at home care? Just thinking about it makes me ill, it is not going to end well.

 

[torismom]

My dd has asthma. I cannot decide to get her the vaccine shot or not. I am so back and forth on this one.

 

[Denine]

They are testing to see if asthmatics need 2-15mcg doses or 2-30mcg doses. The regular dose is 15mcg.

I agree, they should have tested this long before, not when the vaccines are trickling in.

Both my DD and I have asthma, but she is only on Singulair. I am on Advair.
So, we are both at risk.

 

[minniebeth]

Well steroids help Asthmatics because it inhibits the immune systems response. The inflammation and extra mucus Asthmatics struggle with are triggered by their immune systems so by derailing their immune response the disease is short circuited. But the majority of Asthmatics take inhaled cortico-steroids which are supposed to be minimally invasive systemically, at least when compared to an oral steroid like Prednisone. I would imagine they are checking to see if even the mild amount of steroids present in the blood stream from daily inhaled dosing is enough to inhibit the immune response necessary to prevent disease via vaccine.

Just out of curiosity, shouldn't the effect of these steroid treatments on this particular population with regard to immunization have been tested BEFORE we were faced with such an enormous public health crisis? I mean, how hard would it have been to keep track of titers on Asthmatics before today?

I have been crying out for these kids to be looked at since this all hit. It is unconscionable that they were ignored up until now. I even complained back when their best weapon of defense, the albuterol inhalers available for $4 before 12/31/2008 were pulled from the shelves for not being green enough. Now we have millions of people out there who are extremely vulnerable with poor drug availability, due to expense, and quite possibly even less likely to be successfully vaccinated.

The poorest communities are going to be hardest hit and the main reason will be the lack of drug availability. What do you think is going to happen as these kids get sick, the hospitals fill up and the cheap drugs are no longer attainable for at home care? Just thinking about it makes me ill, it is not going to end well.

Well said and I admire your advocacy and feel your frustration and agree with everything you say...I understand your point about the poorest of communities being hit, but heck, my DDs' medical bills and prescription bills each month are a big budget buster for us, with insurance covering less and less each year and we are middle class.

 

[luvwinnie]

It's so frustrating. The govt. keeps urging asthmatics to get the shot, but they are just now doing this test which won't be concluded until June 2010! Hopefully, everyone who WANTS a vaccine will have one way before that...but maybe that vaccine won't even protect us.