Friday Nov 8, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) issued a press release today to alert food consumers to the potential allergic reaction associated with gelatin-containing flu vaccine or influenza vaccine .

The organization cited a case report presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of ACAAI as noting that people with gelatin allergy can experience a mild to severe reaction to the flu vaccine because flu vaccine likely contains gelatin.

The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends people particularly at-risk people like children and the elderly receive an flu vaccine annually.  The influenza vaccine can be a shot or actually a nasal spray, but both can contain gelatin, according to the press release.

Gelatin is derived from proteins of animals like cow, pig or fish.  Gelatin can be used in a variety of foods, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals, including gummy bears vitamins, marshmallows, and candy. 

Allergic reaction associated with gelatin is rare, but it can happen.  The ACAAI suggests that those who are allergic to gelatin may want to avoid getting the influenza vaccine.

The flu vaccine may help some people to avoid flu, but the efficacy is often low, meaning that many people who receive the flu vaccine may complain they still get the flu.  The CDC claims though that flu vaccine recipients can suffer less than those who do not receive the medication when flu indeed strikes.

Those who do not want influenza vaccine for whatever reasons may try to use high doses of vitamin D.  Vitamin D is known to boost the production of antibacterial peptides and increase innate immunity against infections like flu and colds.  And the high efficacy was observed in elderly people who took high doses of vitamin D, according to Vitamin D Council. 

Vitamin C supplementation is another option.  Studies suggest that vitamin C is also known to be better than Tamiflu, a drug indicated to treat flu.  Tamiflu can't prevent flu, it can help shorten the duration only when it is used at the early stage of flu.  In contrast, vitamin C can have a similar effect even when taken at a later stage of the infection. (David Liu, PHD)