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Nasal spray, flu shot confer similar protection against influenza
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There was no difference in community protection against influenza when vaccinating children and adolescents with either intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine or inactivated influenza vaccine, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Previous recommendations from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices stated that the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) should not be used in any setting.
"Our study is the first blinded randomized controlled trial to compare the direct and indirect effect of the live vaccine vs. the inactivated vaccine," Mark Loeb, MD, a professor at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, said in a press release.
He continued: "Our results are important because in previous years the live vaccine had first been preferred for children. In fact, as late as June 2014, the live vaccine was preferred. Then, subsequently, it was no longer preferred and now not recommended at all."
Loeb and colleagues conducted a trial over three influenza seasons in 4,611 children and adolescents aged 36 months to 15 years in Hutterite colonies in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. Of the participants, 1,186 received a vaccine and 3,425 did not.
Results showed average vaccine coverage of 76.9% of children in the LAIV group and 72.3% in the inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) group. In addition, influenza A or B virus infection occurred at a rate of 5.3% in the LAIV group and 5.2% in the IIV group.
The researchers reported no significant difference between IIV and LAIV (pooled HR = 1.03; 95% CI, 0.85-1.24).
"Our results suggest that vaccinating children with LAIV does not confer better community protection against influenza than IIV," Loeb and colleagues concluded. "Although the choice of an influenza vaccine for children may depend on various factors, our data suggest no additional benefit of LAIV over IIV." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes
Disclosures: Loeb reports grants from the Canadian Institute of Health Research, WHO and the NIH, and personal fees from Sanofi Pasteur, AstraZeneca, and Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics outside the submitted work. Please see the full study for a complete list of all other authors' relevant financial disclosures.
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