A bummer for kids: Nasal flu vaccine not effective

Follow me at @drClaire Every year, many of my patients have been able to skip the needle — and still get vaccinated against the flu. That was the great thing about the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine, known as the LAIV (live attenuated influenza vaccine): kids scared of needles could get a squirt up each nostril and be all set. This coming flu season, everyone is getting the shot. It turns out that the nasal spray just didn’t work that well. Despite studies from the 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 flu seasons that seemed to show that the nasal spray actually worked better than the shot in children ages 2-8 years, over the past couple of years it became clear that it wasn’t working very well. Data from the 2015-2016 season showed that the spray only offered protection 3% of the time, as opposed to 63% with the shot. We might as well have been squirting water up those noses, which is so upsetting to me as a pediatrician. I recommended the nasal spray. I told families it worked just as well. But it didn’t. We don’t know why the nasal spray hasn’t been working well. Usually, “live attenuated” viral vaccines, the ones that are not completely inactive but aren’t active enough to cause infection in most people, work better than inactive ones. Usually, they cause a stronger immune response from the body and give better protection. It’s particularly puzzling since those earlier studies showed it worked better than the shot. In retrospect, those studies were done bef...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Children's Health Cold and Flu Infectious diseases Parenting Prevention Source Type: news