Spray Flu Vaccine

Study Shows Spray Flu Vaccine More Effective for Infants

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (October 2, 2006) – It’s the dreaded flu season again, which means its time to get your annual flu-shot. But before getting your child immunized, you may want to consider asking your doctor about a vaccine that comes in the form of a nasal spray.

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“It’s a live, but weakened form of the influenza virus that works by mimicking a real flu infection,” says Michael Consuelos, M.D., vice-chair of pediatrics, at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network (LVHHN). “The traditional flu shot gives protection by forcing the production of antibodies in the blood. However, the nasal spray stimulates an immune response first in the nose, and then in the blood. This results in additional production of antibodies in the nose, where the flu usually enters the body.”

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A recent study suggests that the spray flu vaccine may even be up to 55 percent more effective than the traditional flu shots for children and infants under the age of five. The spray flu vaccine is approved for children and adults ages 5-49, but the study of over 8,000 children could change the way flu shots are administered.

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“Each winter the influenza virus kills over 36,000 people, most of them elderly,” says Consuelos’ colleague, Luther Rhodes, M.D., chief of infectious diseases. “Children are one of the primary spreaders of the disease, and they are contagious for 10 days. Adults are contagious only for five. With more widespread use of the spray flu vaccine, we could potentially decrease the number and severity of flu epidemics.”

The spray flu vaccine is more expensive than the shot, but the big advantage to using it is that it can be administered more easily. “Getting a shot when you’re an adult can be traumatic, but much more so for children,” Consuelos says. “All it takes is a squirt up both nostrils. No needles involved.”

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The company that makes the FluMist spray flu vaccine is currently seeking FDA approval to give the vaccine to children ages six months to five years.

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The study also showed that mild wheezing and other asthma-like symptoms were experienced in only the youngest patients, those ages six months to two years, but affected less than one percent of them. Symptoms also were temporary.

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