FluMist, made by MedImmune has already produced 12 million doses of its nasal spray version of the H1N1 vaccine. Compared to traditional vaccination injections this is about 4 million more doses than all four companies who are producing the injection combined. The United States Government has only ordered 12.8 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine which means that MedImmune may be sitting on a huge surplus of the FluMist. They are currently trying to sell the vaccine to other countries. They have also ran out of the nasal spray devices and are considering moving on to nasal droppers which were used in clinical trials, but that will require FDA approval. I'm not sure if there is an advantage to the FluMist method of vaccination over a traditional injection.
It's also interesting to me that according to this source the government has only ordered 12.8 million doses yet claims that they do not expect a shortage of the H1N1 vaccine. As far as I know the CDC has not officially announced who will get the vaccine but speculation is that health care workers, pregnant women, school age children, and those with asthma and other health problems will be first priority. Surely these groups equal more than 12.8 million combined. The source also states that in six weeks 36 summer camps were hit with H1N1 this summer, a dire indicator of what may come when school starts this fall.
I'd like to hear your thoughts. Are you concerned there will be a shortage of H1N1 vaccines? Would you prefer the FluMist nasal spray over a shot?
More About H1N1 (Swine Flu):
Do Face Masks Prevent the Spread of H1N1?
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I hate shots! So I would personally prefer to get the nasal spray.
However, for seasonal flu there has always been a high end of age 49, and I am older than that.
Do you know if the age parameters will change for the H1N1 flu vaccine?
I think that most people would perfer a nasal spray rather than a shot. The biggest disadvantage to the flumist is that anyone that has a compromised immune system not only can’t receive the mist but cannot be around anyone who has gotten it. This is a huge challenge for a child with an immune disorder as most children will receive the mist
It’s the severely immunocompromised persons who are in a protected environment (e.g., hematopoietic stem cell transplants)- these persons can’t come in contact with a receiver of FluMist within 7 days. Children with immune disorders attending school are not considered severely immunocompromised so they are fine to be around FluMist recipients.