The drugmaker, AstraZeneca, announced on August 15, that the FluMist Home service is now live, making the nasal flu vaccine available for home delivery without a prescription.
The nasal spray won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last September. It’s the first flu vaccine that adults can self-administer or give to their children outside of a pharmacy, doctor’s office, or other healthcare setting.
As with the in-office version of FluMist, the new home spray is approved for adults younger than 50 and children age 2 and up.
“Approval of the first influenza vaccine for self- or caregiver-administration provides a new option for receiving a safe and effective seasonal influenza vaccine potentially with greater convenience, flexibility, and accessibility for individuals and families,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a statement announcing the approval.
FluMist Home is currently available for order in 34 states, the company said, making it accessible for about 80 percent of eligible people. It hopes to expand access to the entire continental United States some time next year.
A Nasal Flu Vaccine Has Been Around for Years
A nasal spray version of the flu vaccine is nothing new. The FDA initially green-lighted FluMist in 2003 for people ages 5 through 49, and then extended its approval to children ages 2 through 5 in 2007.
Just like the nasal spray vaccine that’s been around for 20 years, the self-administered version stimulates the immune system by using inactivated (weakened) versions of the two main types of human flu virus, subtypes A and B.
Adults 50 and older and children between 6 months and 2 years old should get the flu shot, not the nasal flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency also says that people who are pregnant or who have certain chronic health conditions, such as HIV, should get the flu shot, not the nasal spray flu vaccine.
The Home Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine Is Easy to Use
The FDA granted its approval to FluMist Home after reviewing study results confirming that instructions for use were appropriately designed so that adults could safely and effectively administer the vaccine to themselves or to children.
“It’s easy to do — similar to spraying saline solution in your nose,” says Carlene Muto, MD, the medical director of infection prevention and control with Temple University Health System in Philadelphia.
The most commonly reported side effects of the nasal spray vaccine include runny nose and nasal congestion. Adults might experience a sore throat, while kids 6 and younger may develop a low fever.
FluMist is available exclusively via home delivery through the FluMist Home website.
“Instead of taking a few hours to go to a pharmacy or to your medical provider, you can just go online, complete a questionnaire [which will be reviewed by a pharmacist], and then have the order shipped to your home,” says Edward Jones-Lopez, MD, an infectious disease specialist with Keck Medicine of USC in Los Angeles.
Who Is Most Likely to Choose the New Home Flu Vaccine?
Dr. Muto notes that the nasal spray flu vaccine may appeal especially to people with trypanophobia — fear of needles.
“I remember myself being afraid of needles as a child,” says Dr. Jones-Lopez. “I think most kids, if given a choice between an injection and a little fluid squirted up their nose, would prefer the spray.”
He adds that being able to give the vaccination in a home setting may be much more comfortable both for children and adults.
Convenience is also a factor. “I could see self-administration being welcomed in populations where traveling to a clinic or pharmacy is difficult,” says Andrew Dwenger, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City. These groups include people who live in rural areas or who have a debilitating illness that makes it hard for them to get around, says Dr. Dwenger.
The Flu Vaccine Can Save Lives
Even so, just under half of children and adults in the United States get the annual flu vaccine.
“Influenza kills tens of thousands of people every year,” says Muto. “It doesn’t matter what vaccine you pick, just please pick one to protect yourself and your loved ones.”
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