AstraZeneca has announced that the first doses of its FluMist Quadrivalent live intranasal flu vaccine for the 2020-2021 US influenza season have shipped. FluMist Quadrivalent is approved for use in children over the age of 2 and adults up to age 49. The company said that it has increased planned production of the vaccine by more than 25% in response to recommendations from the CDC for increased flu vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic and expects the majority of those doses to be available by the end of September.
According to AstraZeneca, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have both included FluMist Quadrivalent in their lists of recommended flu vaccine options. The FDA first approved FluMist Quadrivalent in 2012, and ACIP recommended the use of FluMist Quadrivalent instead of injection for children in 2014; however in 2016, ACIP recommended against the use of FluMist Quadrivalent for the 2016-17 flu season after 2015-16 data showed minimal effectiveness. The committee again recommended against use of the vaccine for 2017-18 but renewed its recommendation in 2018-2019.
AstraZeneca Senior VP, US Respiratory and Immunology, Mina Makar commented, “AstraZeneca has a long-standing commitment to putting the needs of patients first and protecting public health – and this year it is critical given the current pandemic. To that end, AstraZeneca has increased manufacturing capacity and accelerated vaccine development to ensure we can confidently meet the needs of consumers and the healthcare system. We are proud to provide FluMist Quadrivalent – the only nasal-spray flu vaccine – which helps play a key role in the fight against flu in the US.”
Read the AstraZeneca press release.
