I just found that my cousin’s two year old passed away this afternoon. She had T-cell lymphoma so she was undergoing chemotherapy so its a stretch to say that the vaccine did it (the docs did give her the vaccine a few days ago) but she was especially ill since getting it.
Honestly I can’t understand why they would give the vaccine to anyone on chemo, let alone a small child.
I am so sorry for your loss of a family member. It is difficult to accept the suffering and loss of little ones. My heart goes out to your family. I’m not a medical professional but my husband is on chemotherapy to treat a rare auto-immune disease and I will try to relate to you what his doctor told us.
Chemotherapy suppresses the immune system and weakens it. Thus a person would be unlikely to be able to battle any virus normally as their immune system is suppressed. If she had contracted influenza it is very likely she would have died as well.
Chemo drugs can be very damaging to the body. It’s a delicate balance to prescribe the correct drug in the correct amounts to battle the disease without killing the patient.
Flu shots are highly recommended for people who have compromised immune systems because their immune systems do not work like a healthy person.
That would seem to be a remarkably stupid thing to do. We know absolutely nothing about possible interactions of this type.
The only semi-rational explanation that I can think of is the admission that the best place to spread any kind of infection is a hospital.
But that's a stretch.
A more human and humane response would be special precautions and isolation for those most vulnerable.
But real thinking is not a hallmark of our present society. Ignorance and "expediency" prevail.
Don't get me started...