Nasal influenza vaccines could be set to make a return for the 2018-19 flu season after a vaccine advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted to include FluMist in the immunization options for the coming year.
FluMist provides a route of administration for the flu vaccine that does not require a needle, a benefit that proved particularly useful in inoculating children and infants. It was first licensed in 2003 and is indicated for healthy patients between two and 49 years of age.
The AstraZeneca nasal form of the flu vaccine has been absent from pharmacies in the United States for two years after poor product performance against the H1N1 strain in the 2015 season. However, AstraZeneca has replaced the H1N1 component of the drug and recently presented data from a clinical study demonstrating its improved efficacy to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
ACIP voted 12-2 in favor of recommending the nasal spray as an option for next winter’s flu season. However, some experts voiced concerns over the vote, with panel member Edward Belongia, of the Wisconsin-based Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, observing: “It was not an easy decision.”
Gregory Keenan, vice-president of US medical affairs at AstraZeneca, stated: "This study validates the improvements we've made to our strain selection process and confirms an improved H1N1 LAIV strain was included in the 2017-2018 formulation.”
“We are pleased that the ACIP has voted in support of a renewed recommendation FluMist Quadrivalent in the US and look forward to continuing to work with public health authorities to optimize protection against influenza."
About Flu Vaccines:
On March 1st, 2018, an open session of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet to make recommendations on which strains should be included in the influenza vaccines for the 2018-19 season. Most vaccines target a combination of influenza A and B strains and provide protection against either three (trivalent) or four (quadrivalent) strains.
In a recent statement on flu vaccines from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Scott Gottlieb, he asserted the ideal situation would be the development of a universal influenza vaccine to provide protection against a variety of strains from year-to-year.
Last year, the predominant strain of influenza was type A (H3N2), accounting for about 76 percent of positive tests done in public health laboratories. However, in the 2017-18 season, the effectiveness of vaccines was only 34 percent against type A, and 56 percent against type B. The composition of the 2017-18 season is expected to differ slightly from the previous year to address the lower efficacy.
In other flu vaccine news, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline recently presented new data on its Fluarix Quadrivalent influenza vaccine, demonstrating its efficacy in immunizing children between six and 35 months old. Fluarix is immunogenic against all four vaccine strains: H1N1, H3N2, Victoria, and Yamagata.
For more details on the vaccines available, visit the CDC website.
