Question and Answer Forum

Is the flu shot recommended for CFS patients?

By David S. Bell, MD, FAAP

Published in Lyndonville News, November 1999

Question: What are your recommendations for a person with CFS regarding the flu shot? Is it beneficial to the patient, or do you feel it is possibly detrimental to one’s health in this situation?

Answer: This is a tough one. I generally do not recommend that my patients get the flu shot. It can sometimes set off an immunological response that is worse than the flu might be and can send some patients into a relapse. However if it is an exceptionally bad year for the flu, then the response to the shot may not be as severe as if the patient caught a virulent flu bug. There is no clear cut answer for this question, and I am sorry I can not give a more definitive answer.

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