Key TakeawaysThe FDA has approved FluMist, a nasal spray flu vaccine, for self-administration.Healthy individuals aged 2 to 49 can use FluMist, but people with specific medical conditions or health concerns should consult a healthcare provider before use.The effectiveness of FluMist is similar to the traditional flu shot and protects against severe flu complications.

Key Takeaways

The FDA has approved FluMist, a nasal spray flu vaccine, for self-administration.Healthy individuals aged 2 to 49 can use FluMist, but people with specific medical conditions or health concerns should consult a healthcare provider before use.The effectiveness of FluMist is similar to the traditional flu shot and protects against severe flu complications.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first-ever influenza vaccine that can be administered at home. It’s a nasal spray vaccine calledFluMist, and it’s been available in doctor’s offices and pharmacies for years.

The approval “provides a new option for receiving a safe and effective seasonal influenza vaccine potentially with greater convenience, flexibility, and accessibility for individuals and families,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Here’s what you need to know about administering FluMist at home.

What Is FluMist and Who Can Use It??

FluMist is a live attenuated flu vaccine. Meaning, it uses a weakened version of the flu to encourage your body to mount an immune response. The flu shot does not use a live version of the influenza virus.

FluMist is approved for use in healthy people between the ages of 2 to 49. Aside from age, people who should not get the FluMist vaccine include:

People in certain categories or parents of children or teens with any of the following conditions should check with their healthcare provider about whether it’s safe to get FluMist:

Understanding Flu Vaccine Effectiveness

How Effective Is FluMist Compared to a Flu Shot?

The effectiveness of FluMist has varied over time. Previous research found that the vaccine was not as effective as the flu shot against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 viruses, leading federal health officials to recommend against using FluMist for the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 seasons.

But the nasal spray vaccine has since been updated with new influenza A(H1N1) vaccine virus ingredients, giving it similar protection as the flu shot. “The efficacy is considered to be comparable,” saidAmesh A. Adalja, MD, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

As a result, it’s been recommended for use to prevent the flu and protect against serious complications of influenza since the 2018-2019 flu season.

As for how effective FluMist is, it’s lumped in with data for the flu shot from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Based on that data, the flu vaccines were 42% effective at preventing the flu during the 2023-2024 season and 30% effective during the 2022-2023 season.

It’s important to note that these numbers only reflect how many people actually got the flu who were vaccinated against it, saidJohn Sellick, DO, an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo. The vaccine is still “highly protective” against severe complications of the flu, he added.

How to Take an At-Home Flu Test

How Do You Administer FluMist at Home?

FluMist is given with a spray in each nostril. “The process is not too complicated,” Sellick said.

The sprayer comes with a dose divider to let users know how much to give in each nostril. To use it, spray half of the contents in one nostril and then the other half in the other nostril.

What Are the Risks of FluMist?

The FluMist vaccine comes with several potential side effects. Those include:

How Much Does FluMist Cost?

“I suspected insurance will cover it, but that may vary depending on the plan,” Adalja said. Sellick also stresses that cost is uncertain at this point. “The key thing that usually drives all of this is what Medicare says, and the vaccine is not indicated in that group,” he said. (Medicare is designed for people aged 65 and up.)

How Deadly Is the Flu?

Where Can You Get FluMist?

The home version of FluMist will not be available until next flu season. However, for the current flu season, FluMist is available from local pharmacies and healthcare providers.

FluMist manufacturer AstraZeneca plans to provide the home version of the vaccine through a third-party online pharmacy. To receive it, you’ll need to go through a screening and eligibility assessment before the pharmacy will write a prescription and send the vaccine to you.

Doctors are uncertain how much this will impact flu vaccination rates in the future. “I suspect that this will have a marginal effect on flu vaccine uptake rates in the near term, but it may become a pular for certain people to get their flu vaccine,” Adalja said.

What This Means For YouStarting next flu season, you’ll be able to order a flu vaccine to be delivered directly to your home. For now, though, you’ll still need to see a healthcare provider to get vaccinated.

What This Means For You

Starting next flu season, you’ll be able to order a flu vaccine to be delivered directly to your home. For now, though, you’ll still need to see a healthcare provider to get vaccinated.

5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nasal spray influenza vaccine for self- or caregiver-administration.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV] (the nasal spray flu vaccine).National Library of Medicine: DailyMed.Flumist—influenza vaccine live intranasal spray[drug label].Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.CDC seasonal flu vaccine effectiveness studies.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Resources for adult vaccination insurance and payment.

5 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nasal spray influenza vaccine for self- or caregiver-administration.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV] (the nasal spray flu vaccine).National Library of Medicine: DailyMed.Flumist—influenza vaccine live intranasal spray[drug label].Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.CDC seasonal flu vaccine effectiveness studies.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Resources for adult vaccination insurance and payment.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nasal spray influenza vaccine for self- or caregiver-administration.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV] (the nasal spray flu vaccine).National Library of Medicine: DailyMed.Flumist—influenza vaccine live intranasal spray[drug label].Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.CDC seasonal flu vaccine effectiveness studies.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Resources for adult vaccination insurance and payment.

Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nasal spray influenza vaccine for self- or caregiver-administration.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV] (the nasal spray flu vaccine).

National Library of Medicine: DailyMed.Flumist—influenza vaccine live intranasal spray[drug label].

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.CDC seasonal flu vaccine effectiveness studies.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Resources for adult vaccination insurance and payment.

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