AstraZeneca subsidiary MedImmune, LLC, the manufacturer of FluMist, anticipates that FluMist will be available for the 2026 influenza season as well.
FluMist, which is sprayed into the nose, is now approved for the alleged prevention of influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B in individuals 2 through 49 years of age.
Each refrigerated FluMist sprayer contains a single 0.2 mL dose with “live” attenuated influenza virus (10^6.5–7.5 FFU) from three strains: A/Norway (H1N1), A/Thailand (H3N2), and B/Austria (B/Victoria lineage).
Alarmingly, the FDA package insert indicates that the vaccinated can shed (or transmit) the vaccine virus onto the unvaccinated, potentially infecting them.
“Vaccine viruses capable of infection and replication can be cultured from nasal secretions obtained from vaccine recipients,” the document reads.
Vaccine virus shedding within 28 days of FluMist vaccination was studied in two multi-center trials: Study MI-CP129 (200 healthy participants aged 6 to 59 months) and Study FM026 (344 healthy participants aged 5 to 49 years).
In both studies, nasal samples were collected daily for the first 7 days, then every other day through Day 28.
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