Vaccination after radiation?

[claddaghmom]

If you were radiated to shut down your immune system so that you could receive marrow from a donor, wouldn't it be useless to vaccinate?

I thought vaccines contained an adjuvant to stimulate your immune system to create antibodies.

:

[just_lily]

I would think so, yes. I would also think it would be very dangerous to introduce any live virus vaccines into a person without an immune system.

Is this just a hypothetical question?

[claddaghmom]

Kind of, kind of not. I was just combing through some basics on BMT for school and came across a "recommended" schedule of vaccination for those with aplastic anemia who receive a BMT.

It was basically saying you have to be re-vaccinated 6 months after the BMT.

But it got me to thinking...if you have to be radiated to get the donor bone marrow and then be on anti-rejection meds, wouldn't that mean you are severely immunodepressed?

I came across an article that studied about 40 people who had BMT. It said 19 of them had the flu vaccine, then it went on to show that the flu vaccine had 80% efficacy.

I dunno...just trying to learn

[Gitti]

I would never vaccinate no matter what...

[Marnica]

The medical community always says that immunocompromised folks (in general...I know there are a few contraindications) should be vaccinated for everything BECAUSE they are immunocompromised. I disagree and feel that because they are immunocompromised is exactly why they SHOULD NOT be vaccinated.