The News
Study says spray flu vaccine better than shots for tots
Nasal mist uses live virus that immune system learns to strike
By Donald G. McNeil Jr. The New York Times
Article Last Updated: 02/15/2007 01:23:20 AM MST

FluMist vaccine - a live virus in a nasal spray - is much more effective than flu shots in protecting young children against the disease, a study has found. The study, conducted by researchers from medical schools in St. Louis, Tennessee, California and Finland, found that children from 6 months to 5 years old got 55 percent fewer cases of flu when they were protected by the nasal-spray vaccine rather than shots. FluMist is not licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for children under 5, but the data could lead to major changes in the way they are protected. MedImmune, the company that makes FluMist, says it is hoping for FDA approval for younger children in time for the next flu season. MedImmune funded the study.


The Research
Read the research behind this story in The New England Journal of Medicine.