My Child Is Allergic To Eggs. Is It Safe For Her To Receive Vaccines?

Vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and influenza are both raised in egg-based cell cultures, prompting concerns about the safety of these vaccines in children who are allergic to eggs. Careful analyses of the MMR vaccine have demonstrated that it does not contain egg proteins capable of causing a reaction in an egg-allergic individual. Based upon a long record of safety, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children with egg allergy be given the MMR vaccine without any special measures being taken. In our own practice, we monitor egg-allergic children in our office for 60 minutes after administration of the MMR vaccine.

The influenza vaccine, however, does contain small amounts of egg protein. Patients with true egg allergy can first be skin tested to the influenza vaccine; if they have a negative result, the vaccine can be safely administered as a single dose. If the skin test is positive, the vaccine can still be given, but it should be done by an allergist who can safely give the vaccine in multiple small doses over a few hours while closely monitoring the person for an allergic reaction.