Q: Can receiving multiple vaccines (like hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus) before traveling weaken resistance to a cold or the flu?
"It is considered perfectly safe to administer multiple shots, often up to seven, at the same time to travelers of all age groups," said Dr. Ole Vielemeyer, an infectious-disease specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College.
The body is continually challenged by invaders, either inhaled or ingested, and reacts by making antibodies and disease-fighting immune cells, Vielemeyer said. The specific antigens given in vaccines represent only a small portion of the daily challenges the immune system fends off.
"Thus," he said, "multiple shots will not overwhelm the system and do not cause us to become more susceptible to other infections, like the cold or the flu."
ActiveStyle on 11/24/2014