It is, therefore, incumbent upon the AME to counsel the aviator on potential vaccine side effects and their affect on flight safety. Vaccines come in two different forms, live and inactive. Live vaccines utilize weakened or dead organisms to stimulate an antibody response from the body. They are typically dosed once during childhood, and this provides long-term immunization. Examples of live vaccines include the varicella, oral typhoid, measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines.
Inactive vaccines have no live organisms and are more stable, but immunologically weaker.
Examples of inactive vaccines include intramuscular typhoid, tetanus, influenza, and Anthrax . Inactive vaccines are the type most likely administered to pilots and tend to have less serious side effects. Unfortunately, inactive vaccines have more common minor reactions than the live vaccines. The primary purpose for maintaining the database is to serve as an early warning or signaling system for adverse events not detected during pre-market testing. The AME should be aware of this database and be able to provide the airman with a general description of side effects from various vaccinations.