Flu vaccine

[Kenn123]

Hello friends,

I finished 6 rounds of FCR in March. I was so disappointed to discover last month that my white cell count and neuts were lower than when I was going through chemo. Had bloods checked last week and still the same. I've just returned to work at a school but am nervous now I've heard all the children are to have the flu vaccine, a live virus via nose. Think this might not be too good for me? Anyone got an information on this?

Thanks for all your support.

[Jm954 Administrator]

Hi Kenn123,

Children in reception class and school years one, two, three and four get the live, attenuated virus via a nasal spray in the UK.

In the product information, under 'warnings and precautions' it specifically says 'seek advice if you are in close contact with someone with a severely weakened immune system'. It sounds as though you shouldn't be near them during or immediately after the vaccination but doesn't say how long you should stay away to be safe.

Probably best to have a talk to your medic or specialist nurse, get their advice and then speak to your employer.

All the best.

[rcknow]

Hi Kenn123,

I had a similar situation as I finished FCR in late March and had good neutrophil counts in April and June, but then had a 0.6 count in early August. My nurse practitioner was not concerned as I am on daily bactrim and acyclovir. Still, a count like that upset me. I have since done reading on late onset neutropenia (LON) which tends to occur about 4 months after treatment and generally resolves fairly quickly. That being said, it is important to follow precautions and jm954 has given you good advice.

Here's a link to the article on late onset neutropenia. haematologica.org/content/9...

From the article: 'We found that LON is related to a lack of granulopoiesis in the BM that coincides with a very high level of BAFF, a strong stimulator of B-cell recovery, and hypothesized a hematopoietic lineage competition due to an excessive B-cell recovery in the BM by promotion of B-cell lymphopoiesis over granulopoiesis within common developmental niches.'

What I interpret from this is that LON is a sign that new (and hopefully healthy) B-cells are being produced and this BAFF stimulator is briefly slowing down the production of neutrophils. This is just my (optimistic) interpretation.

Best wishes to you and I hope you stay healthy!!

-Richard

[Kenn123 in reply to rcknow]

Thanks for that Richard. That's made me feel a bit better and I'll adopt the optimistic interpretation too! 👍🏻

[Jm954 Administrator]

Hi Kenn,

a quick update.

Apparently children can shed the live flu virus for 10 days after they have been vaccinated.

Hope that helps.