If you were a person with asthma at the start of the annual flu season, which of these two options would you prefer: (A) Get a flu shot and risk dangerous side effects that could worsen your asthma attacks, or (B) Forego the shot and risk a dangerous case of the flu, a disease that can be particularly deadly for asthma patients?
Fortunately, America’s 26 million asthma sufferers—a disproportionate number of whom are black or Hispanic—may no longer have to choose between the lesser of two flu-related evils each winter. A groundbreaking study from the American Lung Association’s Asthma Clinical Research Centers Network (ACRC) has found that--contrary to physicians’ and patients’ popular belief--inactivated influenza vaccine is safe to administer to asthmatic children and adults, even if their asthma is severe.
According to an American Lung Association spokesman, “Only about 10% of people with asthma currently get a flu shot, [because] they have been afraid it would adversely affect their asthma. If vaccine rates increased, 41% of flu-triggered asthma attacks would be prevented. If everyone with asthma [were to get a flu shot] this year, we can prevent millions of asthma attacks, many of which would have resulted in hospitalizations.”
The ACRC study, led by Mario Castro, MD, MPH, involved 2,032 children and adults with asthma, ranging in age from three to 64. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either an injection of flu vaccine or a placebo, with the researchers watching for worsening of asthma over a two-week period. Surprisingly, the two-week asthma exacerbation rates for both groups were very similar: 28.8% for participations who received the flu shot vs. 27.7% for those who received the placebo. The similarity in rates was consistent in subgroups of participants defined by age, asthma severity and other factors.
For more information about this study, contact the American Lung Association at (800) LUNG-USA (800-586-4872) or visit www.lungusa.org.