Vaccination Without The Needle
There is a new, needle-free vaccine available to help fight the flu this winter.
The new nasal spray flu vaccine, called flu-mist, is the result of four decades of research. Medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains on The Early Show the hope is that it will encourage more people to get vaccinated for the flu.
This nasal spray is recommended for people ages 5 to 49. Senay says if you're afraid of needles, this may be the way to go — especially for kids who tend to kick and scream when needles come their way. And parents are much more likely to vaccinate their children if it's just a little spray in their nose.
Senay warns that because the flu-mist is made with a live virus, it is not recommended for those considered at high risk for complications from the flu. Anyone who wants to avoid the flu, should get a vaccination, but Senay says they're specifically recommended for people over 50 and people at high risk from complications, which are exactly the groups that the flu-mist is not approved for.
Others not recommended to take flu-mist are children under five, people with asthma or chronic illness such as diabetes, heart and lung problems, or compromised immune systems and health care workers shouldn't take it either because they're around many people with these conditions.
The flu-mist isn't necessarily unsafe, Senay informs. It may be perfectly safe and possibly more effective, but the FDA doesn't have enough information to back that up. She says there haven't been enough studies among these groups yet to tell whether or not it's safe and effective for high risk groups.
Doctors do recommend all the groups just mentioned are people who should get vaccinated with a flu shot.
The nasal spray contains an active or live virus. The shot has an inactive virus. It's the same virus, but the live version produces a different type of immunity than the dead one. There may be advantages to a live vaccine but the FDA says more studies need to be done to tell exactly what the advantages are.
Currently, there are flu outbreaks in elderly people in spite of vaccines. The answer to that problem, Senay theorizes, may be a live vaccine or possibly a combination of the live and dead viruses.
Most people won't experience side effects from the nasal spray, but some might get a runny nose or sore throat that tends to be mild and goes away quickly.
Like a flu shot, a physician administers the flu-mist. The nasal spray does cost significantly more than the shot. The nasal spray costs $50, in addition to whatever your doctor might charge to administer it. The flu shot usually costs about $10. Most insurance companies don't cover the nasal spray yet.