You can now get the flu vaccine at home

Instead of going At the pharmacy to receive the annual flu vaccine, many people in the US will now be able to send it to their door to go home alone.

As of today, Astrazeneca’s Flumist is available through an online pharmacy in 34 states. Flumist is not a new vaccine. Initially, it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2003 and can only be administered only by a healthcare professional. But last September, the FDA said the vaccine could be self -determining.

This is the first Astrazeneca dump in the drug directly to the Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly users to sell their popular GLP-1 medicines for diabetes and patient weight management.

« We have learned that people’s everyday life is more busy than ever and we knew that we should meet people where they are facing the reality of real life, » says Tonya Villafana, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs at Astrazeneca, at a press conference on Thursday. « Flumist Home is designed to eliminate traditional obstacles to vaccination, things like planning clinic visits, waiting in line and fear of needles. »

Astrazeneca hopes that home supply will help increase the percentage of flu vaccination. Only about 47 percent of adults are vaccinated against influenza, according to the centers for the control and prevention of diseases. Among children, the percentage of flu vaccination decreases with those of other routine children’s vaccines. As of April 26 this year, 49.2 percent of the children received a flu vaccination – a lower than 53.4 percent at the same time in the previous season, according to CDC.

« Obtaining vaccination every year is the best way to prevent flu that causes a disease in a significant part of the US population every year and can lead to serious complications, including hospitalization and death, » says Peter Marx, a former FDA approval director to evaluate biological data and research, in a statement last year.

The CDC classifies the flu season 2024-2025 as a high weight in all age groups in the United States, leading to at least 610,000 hospitalizations and 27,000 deaths. It was the worst season of influenza after the pandemic flu pandemic in 2009 H1N1.

The approval of Astrazeneca September 2024 is based on a study with recipients of vaccines and careful care to evaluate whether the instructions for use are appropriately designed so that they can safely and effectively use the vaccine.

The vaccine contains a weakened form of live influenza virus and protects against four types of influenza strains. It is approved for the age of 2 to 49 years. For those under 18, he must be administered by a caregiver.

In order to order, customers will have to complete a medical screening questionnaire. A licensed healthcare provider will review any submission to determine the eligibility. Once the eligibility is confirmed and the insurance has been checked, the vaccine will be prescribed and sent directly to the buyer’s home on a date he has chosen. Flumist is covered by most insurance plans, but consumers will have to pay a $ 8.99 delivery fee.

Astrazeneca says Flumist is not yet available in all states because of local pharmacy laws, but the company aims to provide a spray at home to all neighboring countries in the future. The vaccine will continue to be available to doctors and pharmacies for administration by healthcare professionals across the country.