CDC panel: FluMist doesn't work, don't use it

A CDC committee says FluMist nasal spray vaccines are not effective, at least for the 2016-2017 flu season.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) announced the change in its guidance during a meeting of a panel of 15 experts June 22.

The nasal spray isn’t as effective as the regular, injected vaccine, the panel decided. Its effectiveness had been waning for at least three years. A representative from AstraZeneca, the FluMist’s manufacturer, said the mist was only 46 percent effective at protecting against flu infection during the 2015-2016 flu season, while the shot was 65 percent effective. But officials from the CDC said the mist didn’t work at all, especially against H1N1.

"We could find no evidence (the spray) was effective," said CDC flu expert Dr. Joseph Bresee, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The mist was first approved in 2003 for people age 2 to 49 as an alternative to the shot, and was especially popular for kids who are afraid of needles—about a third of pediatric flu vaccines are given in the mist form, according to the CDC. The agency said in a statement it would help make sure increased demands for the upcoming winter’s injected vaccine are met as already-ordered mists become obsolete. NBC News said AstraZeneca had already planned to make 14 million doses, or about 8 percent of all flu vaccines, for this year.

According to CNN, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society indicated their support for the updated recommendations.

Bresee told the Tribune adding an extra flu strain to the mist could have negated its effectiveness. If the issue is resolved, the FluMist could be re-approved for future flu seasons.

The AICP is set to present its recommendations to the CDC later this summer, which will then issue the 2016-2017 guidelines to doctors around the U.S.