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Ask the Experts about Choosing Your Meds
Flu shot or not?
Oct 4, 2006
I have been on Sustiva and Truvada for about 18 months now. I am tolerating them fine. I was wondering, is it a good idea to get the flu shot before winter starts? My viral load is undetectable, but my cd4 cells were at 350 at last check. I'm not sure if it makes sense to get the flu shot of not?
Response from Dr. Young
Thanks for your post.
With influenza season fast approaching, your question is timely. Flu shots are highly recommended for all HIVers. While there's no concrete evidence that the HIV+ community is at greater risk of having flu-related complications, one need not look further than the statistics to inform us of the risk: influenza A kills tens of thousands of Americans every year.
I recommend that my patients get a flu shot annually. Having personally survived influenza A, I can tell you that I'd do anything to avoid that miserable experience again.
BY
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