CDC Recommends Giving Up Nasal Flu Vaccine in Favor of Shots
Nasal vaccine was found to be less effective in flu season.
— -- Get ready to roll up your sleeves this flu season.
Nasal flu vaccinations are no longer being recommended by federal health officials after they were found to be less effective than traditional flu shots.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, changed its recommendations Wednesday on flu vaccines after the nasal flu vaccine was deemed relatively ineffective at preventing the virus over the past three flu seasons.
CDC officials reported during the most recent flu season that they could find no measurable protective benefit in children between the ages of 2 and 17 who were given the nasal spray.
The change means that both adults and children who are frightened of needles will no longer have another option that is less invasive.
The American Academy of Pediatrics backed the CDC's recommendation, while acknowledging that many parents and medical providers preferred to give children the nasal spray over a shot.
“We do understand this change will be difficult for pediatric practices who were planning to give the intranasal spray to their patients, and to patients who prefer that route of administration,” AAP CEO-Executive Director Dr. Karen Remley said in a statement Wednesday.
“However, the science is compelling that the inactivated vaccine is the best way to protect children from what can be an unpredictable and dangerous virus."