AstraZeneca's Self-administered Flu Vaccine to be Approved by FDA

FluMist, AstraZeneca's nasal spray flu vaccination that has been on the market for two decades, might be ready for self-administration as soon as next year. The FDA has approved AZ's supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for self-administered FluMist Quadrivalent. The company anticipates a decision in the first quarter of next year and hopes to launch the medicine during the 2024-2025 flu season. The needle-free vaccine, which has already been approved for patients aged 2 to 49, could be self-administered by persons aged 18 to 49. FluMist can also be given to children ages 2 to 17.

Currently, only healthcare practitioners are authorized to use the spray, as per fiercepharma. If approved, the FluMist would be made available through an online pharmacy request system. The vaccine would be delivered to houses in temperature-controlled packaging. Despite the fact that the CDC recommends seasonal flu shots for everyone over the age of six months, less than half of the US population follows through. In rural areas, only one-third of adults were immunized against the flu during the 2021-2022 season. AZ anticipates that the self-administered vaccination will attract people who now obtain flu shots and are drawn to the ease. Glasser believes that in the long run, it will attract more people to flu vaccine and raise overall uptake.

A usability study that proved that adults over the age of 18 could administer the device without help when provided instructions for use backs up AZ's application. FluMist has been found in past studies to have comparable efficacy and safety profiles to other flu vaccinations.