For the past few years, a flu vaccine has required an injection—much to the disappointment of my kids and my needle-phobic husband. But the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices approved a recommendation this week that the nasal spray version should once again be a thing.
The spray, FluMist, disappeared from the market after it turned out it didn’t provide as much protection as the injection. But FluMist’s makers say they have fixed that problem, and the CDC agrees that the mist should be an option, especially for people who hate needles so much that they skip the flu shot if a spray isn’t available.
The injectable versions of the vaccine are still preferred, especially for children, so it’s still best to go with those. But it’s good to know that the spray is an option again, especially if it means more people will get vaccinated.
If you’re still on the fence about getting vaccinated, we now know that people who got the shot this past year were 40 percent less likely to visit the doctor for flu-like symptoms. The exact effectiveness depends on which strain of the flu you were exposed to—but in all cases it was much better than the 10 percent prediction you may have heard last fall. Flu shots become available each fall, usually around September.