brand logo

Am Fam Physician. 2015;92(1):8a-10

Clarification on administration of live vaccines. The Practice Guideline “IDSA Releases Recommendations on Vaccinations in Immunocompromised Patients,” (November 1, 2014, page 664) contained incomplete information about the administration of live vaccines to household members of immunocompromised patients. The fourth sentence of the section titled “Vaccination in Household Members” (p. 665), in the paragraph discussing influenza vaccination, should have specified that live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), rather than “live vaccine,” should not be administered to persons who live with an immunocompromised person who received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant in the previous two months, who has graft vs. host disease, or who has severe combined immunodeficiency. The distinction is important because certain other live vaccines are still permitted. The sentence should have read: “LAIV should not be administered to these persons or, if administered, contact between the immunocompromised patient and household member should be avoided for seven days.” The online version of this article has been corrected.

Continue Reading


More in AFP

Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP.  See permissions for copyright questions and/or permission requests.