A new flu vaccine that is administered as a nose spray rather
than a traditional needle vaccination was approved by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Doctors are hoping that the vaccine, called FluMist, will
encourage people to get immunized for the flu and potentially
decrease the 114,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths that
result from the flu each year.
FluMist, which is manufactured by MedImmune, could be used
by healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49 years. It is
scheduled to be available for consumers before November of
this year.
FluMist
is expected to cost $46 per dose, which is more than three
times as much as a flu shot, and it is estimated
that
the drug could eventually reach sales of $1 billion a year.
Some say that the vaccine's introduction could be among the
largest of the biotechnology industry's new product launches.
However, its impact will be somewhat limited because FluMist
is not approved for use in children under 5 and adults over
49.
Both of these groups are at a high risk of flu-related health
problems. The vaccine is also not recommended for people with
asthma or respiratory diseases.
The vaccine’s use has been limited because FluMist
contains a live but diluted virus that could pose a health
risk to people with weakened immune systems. The
injected vaccine contains a dead virus.
The vaccine’s manufacturer plans to seek approval to
sell FluMist to people under 5 and over 49 years of age in
the future.
It is estimated that only 13 percent of healthy people under
50--about 17 million Americans--got flu shots in 2002.
FluMist is intended for healthy children and adults, and
Wyeth,
MedImmune’s partner, plans a three-year, $100 million
campaign to encourage use of the nasal flu
vaccine among this group.
Washington
Post June 18, 2003; Page A01
