I Already Have MS. Should I Be Worried About Getting Vaccines?
For the most part, no, you should not be worried. In addition to the studies showing that vaccines do not cause MS, there have been studies conducted that show that vaccination does not increase chances of having an MS relapse in the short-term. In fact, many doctors encourage their patients to get a yearly flu vaccine. (Read the full article: Should I Get the Flu Shot if I have MS?) Pneumococcal vaccine is also specifically recommended for people who have limited mobility or who have respiratory dysfunction, which can be a symptom of MS.However, there are certain exceptions, which include:
- During a Relapse: The Immunization Panel of the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Council for Clinical Practice recommends that vaccinations be delayed until people start to improve after a relapse, typically 4 to 6 weeks.
- FluMist and Others:The National Multiple Sclerosis Society recommends that people with MS should NOT get FluMist, the flu vaccine which is a nasal spray. This is a live virus vaccine, and could be harmful to people with MS, especially anyone taking an immunosuppressant drug or immunoglobulin preparation (see below). In addition, other live attenuated vaccines should be discussed with your doctor. These include: varicella (chickenpox), MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and smallpox.
- If You Have Taken Certain Medications: If you just had Solu-Medrol, Tysabri, immunoglobulin preparation (IVIG, or an immunosuppressant, such as mitoxantrone (Novantrone), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), azathioprine (Imuran), or methotrexate), your immune system may be suppressed and the vaccine might not work as well as it could. This should be discussed with your doctor, as he may want you to have the vaccine, but just wait for a certain amount of time after your last treatment to get it. Again, special attention needs to be paid to live attenuated virus vaccines for all people with MS, but especially people who have taken the above medications in the recent past.
[Note: The CRAB (Copaxone, Rebif, Avonex, Betaseron) disease-modifying medications are NOT immunosuppressants, so general rules about MS and vaccination apply.]
Source:
Michael J Olek, DO. Epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical features of multiple sclerosis in adults. UpToDate. Accessed: February 2009.
