FluMist: The No-Needle Approach to Flu Vaccination

Every October through May physicians and pharmacies stock up on flu shots in order to protect thousands of people walking through their doors from the dangerous influenza virus. People bundle up when outdoors during fall and winter to protect their immune system as well as their skin from the cold but are also encouraged to protect themselves from getting sick by using these easy prevention techniques. Reminders are always to cover your mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing and into a disposable napkin or tissue that you can throw away immediately. If you must cough or sneeze and do not have a tissue, use your elbow so the germs aren’t transferring to your hands. Use soap while washing your hands at all times and for at least twenty seconds regularly throughout the day. The most useful tip is that if you get sick, please avoid going to work or school and avoid contact with others such as shaking hands or sharing food or drinks, so you don’t pass on the virus to others. With 5 to 20 percent of the United States population ending up with the flu each season, the flu shot has proved necessary in the past. While the flu shot has shown to be a helpful tool in the past to help the body avoid the virus, there is a new kind of vaccine that appeals to those needle-phobic patients.

No one likes being poked with needles, but unfortunately a lot of the time we cannot help it. Having blood drawn, visiting the hospital, or having a routine childhood vaccination all involve leaving with a Band-Aid (or a few) and a lollipop, if you’re lucky. At the beginning of flu season some people want to be cautious and get a flu shot  but with the advantageous anti-needle FluMist, more people might be willing to get in line now and save themselves the tissues later on.

Approved in 2003 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FluMist is gaining popularity as a nasal mist sprayed once into each nostril as an alternative to the common needle flu shot. FluMist is recommended for healthy individuals between the ages of 2 and 49. While the flu shot is a strain of the virus that is inactive or dead, FluMist is a strain of live viruses but they are weakened and cannot cause the patient to get influenza.

However, FluMist isn’t without its side effects. Common symptoms were mild cases of a cough, runny nose, fatigue, chills, headaches, or a sore throat. FluMist isn’t approved for everyone. For example children under 24 months or women who are pregnant, people who are allergic to eggs, egg proteins, or gelatin, as well as people who are taking aspirin therapy. It is important to know that any vaccine can give people a reaction it just depends on the risk involved for your body due to your medical history and if you are concerned always ask your doctor before having any type of vaccination.

Due to the live nature of the vaccine, FluMist is also not recommended to people with the following conditions unless a specific situation allows them to receive it through their healthcare provider: asthmatics or adults and children under the age of 5 with recurring wheezing, patients who have or have had Guillain-Barré syndrome, long-term medical conditions such as heart and kidney diseases, and metabolic diseases like diabetes, or those with an already weakened immune system. Distributors of FluMist tell you to make sure your healthcare provider knows if someone in your family has any of these conditions before receiving the vaccine.

So you’ve bundled up in long sleeves and a scarf, threw your coat on, avoided fellow coworkers and classmates who cough and sneeze around you and you wash your hands more than you can ever remember. If you still want to be more protected, where can you get this nasal mist alternative to the flu shot? Protect yourself by calling your doctor or local pharmacy to ask if they carry FluMist or look online here  to see a partial list of providers in your area (by pharmacy or doctor’s office) that carry the no-needle vaccine.