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A new weapon against the flu has just been approved by the American FDA. It is a nasal vaccine, which can be administered by yourself, at home.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the green light for self-administration of a nasal flu vaccine.
What is this nasal flu vaccine?
Developed by Astra-Zeneca laboratories, Flumist has been an approved vaccine since 2003 and is available in a nasal spray format. It is now the only nasal flu vaccine that can be administered by the patient themselves. Previously, FluMist had to be administered by a healthcare professional.
Self-administration will be possible for adults up to 49 years of age and for administration by a parent or caregiver in children aged 2 to 17 years.The FDA based its approval on the results of a usability study of FluMist, which showed that adults could administer the vaccine to themselves or others. Astra-Zeneca said in a statement.
The laboratory also plans to set up a FluMist Home service, which will allow, in conjunction with pharmacies, to deliver the vaccine directly to sick people. The vaccine will also continue to be available directly in pharmacies.
“Encouragement” to protect yourself more against the flu
“Approval of FluMist for self-administration is an important step forward in making vaccines more accessible and addressing the high annual burden of influenza” said Iskra Reic, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president of vaccines and immune therapies, in a statement. Other experts also welcome the advance, saying it “This is good news” able “encourage individuals to protect themselves” more flu.
A vaccine that is not recommended for everyone
Asked by the online media WralDr. Jesse Bracamonte, a physician at the Mayo Clinic, explains that this vaccine will not be recommended for everyone because it contains a weakened version of the influenza virus.There are certain situations that do not allow you to take this nasal vaccine, in the case where you are taking medications that act on your immune system, for example, or if you have the HIV. In this case, you should talk to your doctor to make sure the vaccine is right for you.” he recommends.
Except for some special cases, the vaccine will most certainly be able to prevent serious cases of flu. Let us recall that in the United States, during last winter, there were 35 million people affected by the disease, causing 400,000 hospitalizations and 25,000 deaths.
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