An FDA Ruling Could Make Nasal Vaccines More Widespread

If you’ve gotten your annual flu shot or your annual COVID booster — or both! — then you know the routine. Schedule a time at a doctor’s office or local pharmacy, roll up your sleeve and get an injection or two. It’s a relatively quick and easy process — but what if there was a way to make it even quicker and easier? A recent ruling by the Food and Drug Administration now has vaccines going from something you go out to get to something you can do in the privacy of your own home.

FluMist, a nasal vaccine for the flu, was first approved by the FDA in 2003, but this week’s ruling now means that it can be administered at home — either by the recipient or a caregiver.

In announcing the approval of this vaccine for home use, Dr. Peter Marks, the head of the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, called it “a new option for receiving a safe and effective seasonal influenza vaccine potentially with greater convenience, flexibility and accessibility for individuals and families.”

While FluMist has been approved for home use in the U.S., the vaccine will still require a prescription for access. The approval also only applies to people between the ages of two and 49. FluMist manufacturer AstraZeneca also shared that the vaccine will be available via a service called FluMist Home, in which a pharmacist reviews the results of an online questionnaire and can prescribe FluMist accordingly.

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The CDC has cited data indicating that the flu affects approximately 8% of the U.S. population each year — though that figure can reach as high as 11%. If a busy work or home schedule — or, for that matter, a general dislike of needles — prevents someone from getting to a doctor’s office to get a flu shot, the convenience of a nasal approach could make a huge difference in keeping the country healthier.