New Hampshire kids will have to get a shot in the arm this year to vaccinate against the flu – the state isn’t buying the nasal-spray version after the CDC said that in the past two years it basically hasn’t provided any protection.
The nasal spay (FluMist is the trade name) is an inactivated live virus, whereas the injection is a “killed” virus. But that can’t explain the whole problem, because live virus vaccines are common. Maybe it’s the flu strain we’ve seen (H1N1) and maybe it’s a switch from three-strains-in-one-dose to four-strains-in-one-dose.
You can read more details in my Monitor story today, right here.
And in anticipation of comments that often appear on stories like this – no, this doesn’t show that vaccines are inherently bad and evil and flawed. I think it shows the opposite: The vaccination system keeps an eye on itself and makes changes when evidence demands it, even though it will cost an Evil Big Pharma Company lots of money.
I’ll be getting my flu shot this fall, as always.
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