Pediatricians have laid down their final verdict on the FluMist nasal spray vaccine. Experts recommended against using the needle-free and child-friendly FluMist in children this year and advised the public to use the more effective flu shots instead.
Dr. Henry Bernstein from Cohen's Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, said that flu shots "provided significantly better protection" for children in recent flu seasons than the nasal spray vaccine, adding that flu shots are the "best preventative measure" against influenza, the NBC News reported. Bernstein is one of the doctors who penned a statement on the American Pharmacists' Association's recommendations for prevention and control of influenza in children for the 2016-17 flu season. Everyone six months or older should get vaccinated by October.
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, recommended against AstraZeneca's FluMist vaccine in June, with infectious disease specialist Dr. William Schaffner saying that the nasal spray performed poorly in protecting people against viruses, the Parent Herald previously recounted. The FluMist vaccine was also unsuccessful against the most common flu strains during the past three flu seasons.
Plenty of children would be disappointed over pediatricians' new verdict for vaccines. Receiving a spray in the nose is obviously less painful and traumatic than getting your arm pricked by a big needle.
Distribution companies are not anymore offering the FluMist vaccine to pharmacies or clinics. Clinics are not ordering the nasal spray as well or are canceling their orders. The FluMist nasal spray vaccine uses a live weakened influenza virus that stimulates the immune system.
Flu vaccines undergo reformulation and remake annually to catch up with the circulating flu viruses. According to Bernstein, the influenza virus is "totally unpredictable" and experts are unsure which of the multiple influenza virus strains will predominate "from one season to next" and which of those will be more prevalent in certain communities, the NBC News further relayed.
Flu vaccines usually contain three different influenza viruses, but that increased to four in recent years, according to the Chicago Tribune. It's likely that FluMist's four strains caused the vaccine to become ineffective, with the extra strain lowering the body's response to another strain, said Dr. Joseph Bresee, a flu expert at the CDC.
Dr. Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician in Atlanta, said doctors employ various tricks when administering flu shots to children terrified of them. Those tricks include cold packs, numbing creams, and toy distractions, while parents bribe their kids with sweets after the procedure. There are 3,300 to 49,000 fatalities annually due to the flu, according to the CDC.
