CRAZY ADMISSIONS QUESTION FOR ANYONE! HELP!

[zilla]

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I am considering applying to medical schools, however, I have a problem! I do not want to go through the required immunizations for admission to any of the schools. I know this may seem crazy, but ever since I had a severe allergic reaction to the flu vaccine, I have been extremely leary of putting anything in my system. I am not allergic to eggs, so it was not the protein that triggered the reaction, which left my allergist confused. I received the MMR and the DPT as a child and apparently had no reaction, however, medical schools also require Polio, Hepatitis B, Varicella, and Tuberculosis.
DOES ANYONE KNOW IF I WOULD BE ALLOWED TO GET AN EXEMPTION FROM BEING VACCINATED!! Would this be a right of mine, or would they require it because I potentially could put patients at risk? What do hospitals require? Would not being vaccinated affect my clinicals, residency, etc.? Has anyone ever heard of a dillema like this? Is there an organization which oversees the regulation of this? I really want to be a doctor! Any suggestions? HELP!!!!

 

[mpp]

Depending on the school and hopsital, it is likely that they would require immunization without some medical or religious exemption. I would check with the individual schools to which you would like to apply. Perhaps have a friend do so, so that it will not affect your application.

 

[Homunculus]

You *may* be able to get accepted without having current vaccinations, but once you hit third year you're gonna have to have *everything* up to date, and i'm not sure there's any way around it.

take it easy

homonculus

 

[Castro Viejo]

I don't think even your future medical school will be able to allow you to work in a hospital without having had this immunizations. It's beyond them -- I believe it's federal regulations that require health care workers to be immunized against certain bugs.

I think it could be an OSHA thing.

What kind of "severe allergic" reaction did you have?

 

[Future GI Guy]

A couple things.

You might be safe with the live vaccines, like MMR, and also the recombinant vaccine, HBV. As far as I know, the influenza vaccine is the only one made the way that it is, and clearly it's protein products are different than other viral vaccines.

I'd be wary of dT, and I don't think you get the pertussis vaccine as an adult.

The tuberculosis vaccine would never be required in the U.S. It's hardly effective and makes future TB tests useless because you'll always react to the PPT.

You may be able to sign a wavor or something for the other vaccines. The reason why most hospitals require them is for the protection of health care workers. If you give up that protection, you should be okay.

What's more, yours is a special situation and merits special consideration.

Good luck.

 

[Future GI Guy]

Ah, I forgot about OSHA. Good point wu.

 

[AJM]

Hey Zilla,
Have you had chicken pox before? If you did, or if you have positive titers for it, then you won't need the varicella vaccine. Also, the yearly flu shot, while recommended for health care workers, is not normally required because many people experience adverse/allergic reactions to it (particularly if they have egg allergies).

The TB shot that you referred to is probably the TB skin test (aka PPD). That shot is quite safe, and is really not a true shot. They just inject some antigen under your skin, to see whether you get a localized reaction to it. It should not get systemically absorbed. You also don't get much of a choice for the PPD -- that's usually mandated by law that health care workers get screened.

The main series of vaccinations that is required for med school is Hep B. It's 3 shots and is considered quite safe. You shouldn't get the same reaction to the Hep B vaccine that you did to the flu shot, since they're made in different ways. You should look into that vaccine -- the benefits of being immunized against Hep B far outweighs the risk of an allergic reaction to it. Besides, it might be a requirement for you to get it, and the only way you will probably be able to get out of it is if you experience an allergic reaction to the 1st shot of the series.

PS -- these vaccines are not requirements for admission. Usually they are shots that you need right before your first year or during your first year. (Or, at the very least, before your 3rd year)

 

[zilla]

I received the flu vaccine approximately 6 months ago at my doctors office. Immediately following the shot I broke out into a rash across my chest and shoulders, and became very flush. I also had severe shortness of breath which was real scary. One week after the shot, I experienced burning sensations all over my body, numbness in my feet and hands, and trouble walking. I went back to my doctors and he became worried about the possibility of guillan-barre, so he contacted a neurologist. Up to this day, I still have residual symptoms and do not know if I will ever fully know what it did to my system. I have never been allergic to anything in my life! I have also received the flu vaccine twice before, without any reaction! I guess I could get the titers done to see if I am immune to anything as of now!

 

[Smurfette]

Keep in mind that it could be a coincidence and not related to the flu shot...also keep in mind that the flu shot changes every year so your previous flu vaccinations were for different strains of the flu.

I was concerned about getting shots b/c I got the measles from the MMR vaccine when I was young...so I was worried I'd actually get the diseases (w/live vaccines) I needed to be vaccinated for. (I didn't catch anything)

the intradermal tb test I highly doubt you'd react to...like someone said earlier it doesn't distribute thruout your system. Certain vaccines you CAN be exempted from getting, depending on your state, school and reasons for doing so. You need to talk with the person who coordinates the vaccination info for your school and find out exactly what your options are. Then sit down w/a doc and determine which, if any, vaccines contain similar types of components as the flu shot and get the shots that are dissimilar.

I think I remember hearing that the flu shot was quite different from most vaccines....anybody out there know for sure?

 

[doughboy]

If you're really that scared of the PPD test to screen for TB than you can always take a chest X-ray every year. But would you really want to expose your body to radiation if you didn't have to? Like previous posters stated, you can take titers for all the different bugs and see if you really need to be vaccinated against anything. But I would highly recommend getting the Hep B vaccine if possible.