Why is aspirin not to be used to treat robust reactions (takes) from smallpox vaccine?
FDA has concern about the use of aspirin with the varicella vaccine and offers the following warning from the Varivax package insert: “Reye’s Syndrome has occurred in children and adolescents following natural varicella infection, the majority of whom had received salicylates. In clinical studies in healthy children and adolescents in the United States, physician advised varicella vaccine recipients not to use salicylates for six weeks after vaccination. There were no reports of Reye’s Syndrome in varicella vaccine recipients during these studies.” Therefore, CDC recommends following this well established approach, given the rare appearance of Reye’s Syndrome reported in adults. Vaccinees should elect to take NSAIDs to treat the robust reactions whenever possible. However, chronic aspirin use for non-vascular indications such as arthritis, should not be deemed a contraindication.
