WellSpan Health Physicians Answer Questions About First-Ever At-Home Flu Vaccine
Updated: September 25, 2024 5:10 PM ET
Welcome. Earlier this week, the FDA approved the first at-home flu vaccine that people can self-administer at home. But, naturally, it raises a lot of questions. And speaking to you on this subject is Chris McCarty, MD, a family medicine physician with WellSpan Health. Thank you so much for joining us. Hello, thank you so much for having me on today. I’m really excited for you. But first, before we get into it, I just want to clarify that it’s not available right now, it just got approved. It will be available next year. Yes. The actual flu mist nasal vaccine is only available at your doctor’s office. Starting next year, you’ll actually be able to order it and have it delivered to your home and administer it yourself, which is pretty convenient. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. And in addition to that convenience, the great thing about it is that it’s needle-free. It’s a nasal spray. It’s been around for quite some time. It’s not necessarily new, but let’s talk about this vaccine, and how the flu mist works. The flu mist is, well, it’s a mist. It’s a flu vaccine that you actually spray a little bit into each nostril. It’s super easy to do. So it’s very simple, they send you a kit at home and you can get it. It’s called a live attenuated vaccine. Basically, it’s a weakened virus that can replicate a little bit in your nose, but it can’t do anything in other parts of your body, so it can’t do anything in your lungs and you don’t actually get sick. So it creates an immune response and it creates immunity to that year’s flu strain. Yeah, that’s great. You said you can order it online, right? I understand you also need a doctor’s prescription. And then you have to go through a screening process. So can you just walk me through the steps that you have to take to get the vaccine? Right now, it looks like you can go on a website, put in your information and order it. Not only will they send you a kit, but they’ll review you with a pharmacist or a doctor to make sure you’re the right person to get the vaccine. This vaccine isn’t for everyone, but it’s for a lot of people. So most people between the ages of 2 and 49 can get this vaccine. Yes, I think that’s great. And is this nasal spray as effective as the vaccine? Yeah, whereas the injectable vaccine is. Yes. At this point, looking at some of the studies that have been done in other countries, it seems to be just as effective as the injectable vaccine. Yes. Can you talk about your personal experience with that? I mean, I think it’s a big thing now that doctors can get a nasal spray that they can use for the flu vaccine. And will we see this happen in the future with other vaccines, like the COVID vaccine? Yeah, I’m really excited about that. You mentioned the COVID vaccine, we’re actually working on a COVID vaccine that’s administered the same way, and that’s great. As a family doctor, I can’t tell you how often I get kids in my office who react in a way that they don’t like the flu shot, even though it’s really supposed to help them. I’ve had kids hide under chairs or just scream. So this is a great way to be able to offer this vaccine without needles, which are very scary for kids. Usually the shot doesn’t hurt that much, but a lot of kids get very upset when they expect the shot. Doctors aren’t just for kids. I know a lot of adults out there who don’t want to hide under chairs and get pricked with needles. And that’s true. You know who’s the worst, guys with tattoos. They get a lot of shots. Is there anything else you want people to know about the flu vaccine? Yeah, you know, the best flu vaccine is always the one that people get. So this is another great option, especially for people who really don’t want to get the vaccine. People who can get the shot that way or people who can’t get to the office or places that have vaccination campaigns. This will be another great tool that people can use to reduce their risk of getting the flu. This is similar to this. The one that’s available now is available every year. You just get it once a year. It’s the same kind of thing, once a year. We usually recommend this in September or October. That’s great. Thank you so much.
WellSpan Health Physicians Answer Questions About First-Ever At-Home Flu Vaccine
Updated: September 25, 2024 5:10 PM ET
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first at-home flu vaccine that people can administer themselves. FluMist is a nasal spray made by AstraZeneca that has been used to prevent the flu in the United States since 2003. News 8 spoke with a doctor from WellSpan Health about how it works, how well it works, who it’s for and when it’s available. Watch the interview in the player above.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first at-home flu vaccine that people can administer themselves.
FluMist is a nasal spray made by AstraZeneca that has been used to prevent influenza in the United States since 2003.
News 8 spoke with a doctor from WellSpan Health about how the program works, how effective it is, who is eligible and when it will be available. Watch the interview in the player above.
