Should a flu vaccine be taken in conjunction with oseltamivir when symptoms first occur?

No: The flu vaccine needs to be done before you're exposed, it won't help once you start to feel sick. Tamiflu (oseltamivir) should be taken as soon as you realize you have the flu in order to be most effective.

Maybe; ask the Dr.: More than one flu strain goes around the community each season. Flu a has been the main one the past few seasons. If a person gets one strain of the flu, he can still get the flu shot to protect against the other 2 strains of flu. The vaccine protects against 3 strains each season.

Timing: Keep in mind that the vaccine does not work overnight.So getting it at the onset of symptoms may not diminish the symptoms at all. But since you can not be sure if the symptoms you are developing are really influenza or not, it would be wise to immunize.

?Expectations?: Being vaccinated at the time you believe you are developing the flu has an interesting benefit, but is unlikely to help with the initial illness.The body will require 2-3 wks to develop a protective antibody level after vaccination. As dr diamond stated, you might not have the flu, yet even if you do, the vaccine helps build protection from other strains you could catch that season.