Vaccines and Allergies

More and more children and even adults are being diagnosed with allergies to various foods each year. Part of that may be a rise in legitimately new cases, or we may have just gotten better at diagnosing allergies in general. Whatever the reason, doctors need to be especially aware of patient allergies due to the numerous vaccines that contain food proteins.

Food allergies are some of the most commonly diagnosed allergies today. They range from allergies to wheat and grains to milk and everything else one might find on a table. This increase in allergies to food poses an issue for vaccines.

To create a vaccine, the virus or bacteria has to be grown and then allowed to die. To grow, the virus or bacteria must have proteins. Proteins are easy to come by in food sources, particularly eggs. With the number of people reporting allergies to eggs increasing, this means more and more people cannot have access to a vaccine.

The allergies to food proteins that have been reported mean that there will be more unvaccinated people in society, potentially spreading diseases. One of the most common viruses that will be allowed to spread as a result of an increase in the number of people with egg allergies is the influenza virus. This is a serious concern as the country’s population ages and as 36,000 people die from the flu on an annual basis already.

Doctors who administer vaccines without checking for allergies put their patients at risk. Depending on the severity of the allergy or the reaction that occurs when exposed to the food, a person can have significant medical problems and may require hospitalization.

Contact a Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If your doctor administered a vaccine that resulted serious complications, contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., at 610-667-7511 to learn more about your legal options.