At-Home, Inhaled Flu Vaccine Could Be on Horizon

TUESDAY, Oct. 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing an application for the at-home use of a nasal spray flu vaccine called FluMist from AstraZeneca.  The nasal spray has been on the market since 2003, but AstraZeneca is now asking the FDA to allow adults aged 18 to 49 years to be able to give themselves the vaccine or give it to children aged 2 through 17 years.

The FDA is slated to make a decision during the first few months of 2024, Lisa Glasser, head of U.S. Medical Affairs Vaccines-Infectious Disease at AstraZeneca, told HealthDay. If approved, FluMist is expected to be available for self-administration for the 2024/2025 flu season. "Self-administration of FluMist could increase access to flu vaccines outside of traditional settings, providing a convenient option to busy parents and caregivers for vaccine-eligible members of their whole family," Glasser said.

Research has shown that people older than 18 years can use the nasal spray vaccine or administer it to others when given instructions without any additional guidance. In addition, nasal vaccines are as effective as other types of flu vaccines, Glasser said. "Our goal is for eligible patients to be able to order FluMist Quadrivalent directly from an online partner and have it shipped to their home," she added.

Still, not everyone should use the nasal flu vaccine. People who are allergic to eggs, or to any inactive ingredient in the vaccine, as well as those who have ever had a life-threatening reaction to flu vaccines should not use FluMist. Because it is a live vaccine, children younger than 2 years and people with weakened immune systems should steer clear of it as well. The nasal flu vaccine is also not as effective as other flu vaccines for people older than 50 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Len Horovitz, M.D., a pulmonologist at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, is a big advocate of the annual flu shot, but he is on the fence about an at-home nasal vaccine. "It can cause you to develop a cold, which can then be transmitted to others, and that is a minus," he told HealthDay. Also, some of the active ingredients can drip out of a person's nose. "It's not like an injection where you know exactly how much vaccine was given," Horovitz explained. "It is pretty easy to walk into a pharmacy and get a shot, so I am not sure that this benefit outweighs the minuses of potentially not getting a full dose or getting a cold."

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