Health experts recommend nasal spray over traditional flu shot for children.
The recommendation was given by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization. The committee is the CDC's vaccine advisory panel. It examined the data published in previous studies and found that children who received the nasal spray were 50 percent less likely to get the flu. However, experts warned that as the spray is relatively a newer concept, there is not a whole lot of information on its effects in the long-term.
At present, there is just one nasal spray option - AstraZeneca's FluMist. FluMist was approved in 2003 for people between the age of 2-49 years. The latest ACIP recommendation particularly applies to children aged between two-eight years because the review did not find that this option increased protection for adults.
"I agree with the panel's recommendation," said expert in infectious disease Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City reports by HealthDay. "Kids don't like shots, so the spray is a perfect alternative."
"[The ACIP] is following steps that have already occurred in Europe," said Dr. Gloria Riefkohl, a pediatrician at Miami Children's Hospital. "In our practice, we recommend the nasal vaccine for all healthy children up to 21."
Dr. Riefkohl said that the ACIP recommendation does not discourage children from getting the flu shot. If parents want to choose flu shots over the nasal spray they may do so. The shot also provides good protection against the infection.
