Last week, AstraZeneca released a vaccine in the U.S. with one very unique quality: You can give it yourself, at home.
FluMist Home is an influenza vaccine that’s administered via nasal spray, which means no needles and no waiting in line at the pharmacy. Plus, it’s covered by insurance and experts say it’s about as effective as the traditional flu vaccine. But there’s a catch: It’s only been approved for people ages 2 to 49.
Here’s why — and a breakdown of how the vaccine works, how to get it ahead of flu season, and much more.
FluMist nasal spray
The intranasal vaccine was first approved more than 20 years ago and was used primarily on children. As you can imagine, this needle-free alternative became pretty popular, accounting for about a third of all flu vaccines given to kids in 2016. However, around that time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against using the nasal spray because several studies had found that it was less effective than other vaccines against H1N1, a strain of swine flu. AstraZeneca has since reformulated it, and experts say it’s now on par with the available injectable vaccines.
“It’s absolutely not a concern today,” Kelly Moore, MD, the president and CEO of Immunize.org, tells us.
As far as side effects, the main difference between FluMist and a run-of-the-mill flu shot is that instead of a sore arm, you may experience a runny nose, says Ravi Jhaveri, MD, professor of pediatrics and an infectious disease specialist at Northwestern University School of Medicine.
Dr. Jhaveri, who regularly administers FluMist to college students, says the nasal application is painless, and that you shouldn’t expect a fever or “achiness that you might get from an injectable.”
How does the nasal mist flu vaccine work?
An injectable flu vaccine, like the one you’re probably used to getting, is made up of teeny tiny pieces of the flu virus. These proteins train the immune system to recognize influenza so it can attack the virus if you’re later exposed.
FluMist, however, is a live-virus vaccine, meaning that the spray contains a weakened version of the virus which is “cold-adapated” and can only survive in the slightly cooler environment of the nose but not anywhere else in the body. That allows the immune system to practice responding to a potential infection while killing off the practice virus, Dr. Moore says.
What’s the FluMist age range and who should take FluMist?
People with conditions that suppress the immune system or those taking immunosuppressive medications aren’t approved for FluMist, or many other live-virus vaccines, Dr. Jhaveri says.
And as we mentioned earlier, only people ages 2 to 49 are eligible for the vaccine. That’s because children younger than two had a slightly increased risk of breathing issues after receiving the nasal spray, Dr. Moore says. “Children that young have very small airways, so with a very minor amount of inflammation, they can develop some wheezing,” she says.
Unfortunately for those 50 and up, FluMist wasn’t found to be very effective. That’s because older people have likely been exposed to influenza many times throughout their lives and already have “partial preexisting immunity,” Dr. Moore says.
“The immune system is already familiar with the flu, so it kills off the practice virus given through the nasal spray too quickly,” she tells us. “It needs more time to train the immune system to detect the new strains within the vaccine.”
How to order and use FluMist
You can order the nasal flu vaccine spray for you and your family through the FluMist website. It’s covered by insurance, but you’ll have to pay $8.99 for shipping and processing. You’ll be asked to complete a medical questionnaire and, if you’re eligible, you can have it shipped directly to your home.
The sprayer is very easy to use. Remove the cap, insert the tip into one nostril and quickly push the plunger until it’s stopped by the divider. Wipe it off, take off the dose divider clip near the plunger, and spray the rest of the vaccine in the other nostril. Then place the used sprayers in the pre-labeled return envelope and ship it back, so it’s disposed of properly (and to ensure that the vaccine’s recorded in your state registry).
Dr. Jhaveri says the spray is a great option for both busy families and needle-shy patients. “I’m a big believer that we need to offer people as many options as possible,” he says.
