ACIP Urges Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine for Children
- By BSTQ Staff
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 15 to 0 to recommend a preference for the inhaled live attenuated influenza vaccine, FluMist Quadrivalent, for healthy children ages 2 years through 8 years. The recommendation still must be approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, incorporated into the flu prevention and control recommendations and published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report before it becomes official policy. But, the committee also said that if the nasal vaccine isn’t available, children should get the flu shot rather than miss vaccination.
The recommendation was based on a data review that suggested the nasal spray vaccine provides better protection than flu shots against laboratory-confirmed, medically attended flu illness. According to Catherine Dundon, MD, a Nashvillearea pediatrician and consultant to MedImmune, the maker of FluMist Quadrivalent, the recommendation is not likely to change practice. “Most pediatricians are already using FluMist or at least have it in their offices,” she said.
