if you are allergic to egg white, what will happen if you have the influenza vaccine?

Answer 1

If you are allergic to egg whites you could get an allergic reaction from the flu shot.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flu_vaccine#Flu_vaccine_manufacturing
“Flu vaccine is usually grown in fertilized chicken eggs. Both types of flu vaccines are contraindicated for those with severe allergies to egg proteins and people with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome.” (contraindicated = not recommended)

Drug companies use chicken eggs to incubate the flu vaccine in. Actually, there is no vaccine, what you are getting is dead flu germs. Your body then learns the template of that flu virus and is able to react against it if you are exposed to it. They use to give you a weakened version of the flu, but have since found out that dead cells are enough to activate the body's immune response. (Small pox used to be incubated in horses and the vaccine was made from their blood)

There are very few treatment for viruses, the best way to do it is to provide a sample of virus or part of it that the body can identify and develop an immunity to. Your body can't do this with every strain of virus, like the AIDS virus or Ebola; that's what makes them so dangerous. The AIDS virus actually overcomes your immune system by taking it over.

There are 4 types of vaccines for viruses; dead virus cells, weakened or half-dead virus cells, some of the toxin produced by the virus or a part of the virus that the body can identify and so develop a defense against. In the case of the flu normally only a sample of the dead virus is enough. However, like I said these four methods aren’t enough to handle all viruses. There are other methods under development including gene therapy.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine
“A number of vaccines, including those given to very young children, have contained thiomersal, a preservative that metabolizes into ethylmercury. It has been used in some influenza, DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine formulations. Since 1997, use of thimerosal has been gradually diminishing in western industrialized countries after recommendations by medical authorities, but trace amounts of thimerosal remain in many vaccines and in some vaccines, thimerosal has not yet been phased out despite recommendations. Some states in USA have enacted laws banning the use of thimerosal in childhood vaccines.”

This is the controversy over mercury in vaccines, but it is being phased out so it is not as much a problem as it used to be.

Answer 2

If you are allergic to eggs, you should NOT have the influenza vaccine.