Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine for EMS Providers

October 28, 2009

It has come to our attention that some concern has been expressed regarding whether health care workers who have received the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) should resume work immediately after receiving the vaccination.  It is important to know that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, like the Centers for Disease Control, recommends NO restrictions or special actions be taken for EMS workers who receive LAIV.  No special policies or mitigation is required for EMS workers to simply continue their duties following LAIV vaccination.  Facilities have indicated that they will not impose special policies on personnel transporting patients for medical care.  EMS workers with no other contraindications for LAIV  should accept this vaccine. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, "Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is a very good option for most health care providers who are healthy, younger than 50 years old, and not pregnant.  However, health care providers should not get LAIV if they are providing medical care for patients who require special environments in the hospital because they are profoundly immunocompromised (e.g., those who work in bone marrow transplant untis).  Although no immunocompromised patient has been shown to be harmed by use of LAIV among heatlh care workers, the recommendation against the use of LAIV in health care workers with this type of patient contact is intended as an extra precaution for fragile immunocompormised patients. Health care workers with this type of patient contact can get LAIV, but if they do, they should wait 7 days after being vaccinated before returning to duties that include care of severly immunocompromised patients in special environments."

Certain people should not get a nasal spray flu vaccine, including the 2009 H1N1 nasal spray vaccine.  This includes:

• People younger than 2 years of age
• Pregnant women
• People 50 years of age and older
• People with a medical condition that places them at higher risk for complications from influenza, including those with chronic heart or lung disease, such as asthma or reactive airways disease; people with medical conditions such as diabetes or kidney failure; or people with illnesses that weaken the immune system, or who take medications that can weaken the immune system
• Children younger than 5 years old with a history of recurrent wheezing
• Children or adolescents receiving aspirin therapy
• People who have had Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a rare disorder of the nervous system, within 6 weeks of getting a flu vaccine
• People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs or who are allergic to any of the nasal spray vaccine components