Any suggestions getting or not getting RSV, flu, covid vaccines?

Hi @tigre24, I do think it's a question you might want to run by your primary care doctor. The CDC has some information here that might be helpful. I would definitely look at the destinations page before traveling so you know what the current concerns are for the area:
--- Need travel vaccines? Plan ahead.: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-vaccines
--- Destinations: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list

Thanks so much. Good sites to know about.

I agree - talk to your doctor. I've avoided travelling since covid began, was kinda thinking it might be safe-ish recently until PMR hit. Taking a medication which suppresses the immune system was enough to get those crazy thoughts out of my head. Get sick in a foreign country? No thanks.

Personally, I'd think it was get vaccinated or don't travel.

Thanks for your thoughts… really appreciate it…and yes I will be cautious… but I have a condo in Italy and will be there the entire time. Have alerted my neighbor and she is finding a doctor for me if needed. My doctor said if taking less than 10mg of prednisone I should be ok… but I’m not sure of that…and extremely fearful of getting any vaccine. My PMR surfaced months after the bivalent but I had symptoms along the way…and within 3 days of the COVID vaccine.

I have never had a reaction to the yearly flu shot but cannot say that for the covid vaccine. The first shot was uneventful, second shot my arm was pretty sore - mild flu-like symptoms, the day after the third shot I really did not feel well - had a fever, stayed in bed most of the day. So I have only had a total of 3 covid vaccines. I am leary of getting any more covid vaccines. Have not thought about RSV.
At some point you have to live your life. Find the best rated masks for traveling especially for use in congested or confined areas like restrooms. Sounds like thoughtful pre planning is in your favor.
suzanne

impossible to answer definitively. Many of us on this list have linked pmr onset with vax. No telling whether it is coincidence or causation. Whether a booster would cause a flare-up is unknown. My doctor advised me to not get boosters until I am off prednisone. And this drug is known to reduce antibody response from the vax anyway. So, take your chances either way, risk a flare-up or an infection. Just remember to bring lots of the medication so you can deal with any eventualities on your own.

…I feel like we are all on an experimental journey with so many unknowns…

My research on traveling while on prednisone concurs
with your doctor’s advice that less than 10mg is not considered immunosuppressive.
International flights would prompt me to bear with the
mask for hours rather than days or weeks of illness on
your vacation.
I have always done well with flu vaccinations. I’ll wait and see what experiences show for new COVID vax.

I will not be getting any more mRNA vaccines as I see a direct link to getting the Covid vaccines and boosters to later getting PMR. I realize this is anecdotal, but after getting each vaccine, including boosters when recommended, I had a full blown case of Covid anyway. So the mRNA vaccines were of no benefit to me.

I am quite sure that the mRNA booster I had in April 2022 triggered my PMR. Symptoms started about two weeks after the shot. I started taking Prednisone in late June, after my PMR was finally diagnosed. Since then, on the advice of my rheumatologist, I have had two mRNA boosters. I was apprehensive about the first one, but had no significant side effects with either. I’ve also had two Shingles shots in the same period, without a problem. My understanding based on my reading is that mRNA vaccines do not “cause” PMR, but by causing an immune response in a person’s body, they can trigger an overreaction, leading to PMR. I suppose a booster could make one’s PMR worse, but that has not been my experience so far. As I taper off Prednisone (down to 7.5 mg. right now), my view may change. Each person has to make his/her decision about vaccines and I am not trying to convince anyone either way. I just thought my experience might be instructive.