According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu viruses change from year to year. Getting vaccinated for flu each year can reduce the chances of getting flu by up to 90 percent. FluMist is a nasal spray vaccine that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for healthy people between 2 and 49 years of age. There are some dangers, however, that should be considered before taking FluMist.
Flu
Unlike the flu shot which is an inactivated ("killed") virus vaccine, FluMist is a live attenuated (weakened) virus vaccine. According to the FDA, the virus in FluMist is "cold adapted" which means that it replicates poorly at normal body temperature, so it doesn't make most people sick. Older people, young children and people with certain kinds of medical problemschave weaker immune systems, however, and there is a small chance that they could become seriously ill, even from the weaker virus. These people should be vaccinated with the flu shot instead of FluMist.
Breathing Problems
FluMist is administered through the nose, therefore it's not surprising that the most common side effects include runny nose, nasal congestion in sore throat. In some cases, these symptoms can trigger an asthma attack. In clinical trials reported conducted by MedImmune, LLC., the manufacturer of FluMist, children younger than 2 were at increased risk of wheezing and subsequent hospitalization. For this reason, the FDA warns against the use of FluMist in people with asthma and children younger than 5 with a history of wheezing episodes.
Reye's Syndrome
FluMist is contraindicated in children and teenagers younger than 19 who take physician-prescribed aspirin therapy. This is due to the risk of Reye's syndrome, a serious disease primarily affecting the brain and the liver of children and adolescents who receive aspirin and aspirin-containing products for the treatment of viral infections, explains the National Institutes of Health. Caregivers of all other children who are treated with FluMist should ask their health care provider about when it will be safe for the child to take aspirin again.
