So what do people think of the idea of a nasal spray vaccination?

[bumbleymummy]

Another thread mentioned that a new nasal spray flu vaccine has been developed and will be offered to all children from 2014. I'm not really interested in vaccinating against flu but I think that the nasal spray idea is an interesting one because it mimics how the body would naturally be exposed to the virus. I know there is a nasal spray measles vaccine being tested at the moment. I read about it a few years ago but I haven't seen any results of trials yet. It will be interesting to see what comes from them. If a flu vaccine has been developed with the same idea since then it does suggest that vaccines may be going in a new direction.

Pretty much what Accuracyrequired said. Another vaccine my children won't be recieving.

Sorry I disappeared! Good to read all the responses. The risk of meningitis is something I hadn't heard or thought about. Good to know.

Er........... Ok I'm confused, why mention gentamicin?

And what were doctors supposed to do when it was the only thing available?

"I'm sorry Ms Smith, your hild is about to die. I can give treatment but there is a possibility of deafness".

That was the dilema Drs in Nicaragua had during the 1970s /1980s US embargo. Use older, ototoxic antibiotics, or let children die. (and it is usually children).

It's probbaly the only case of a political policy creating a whole new language (Nicaraguan Sign Language).

Presumably mentioned because it may be in the vaccine?

I'm sure there are benefits [snurkle]

"may also contain residual amounts of gentamicin sulfate"

I'd never even heard of it, myself.

Hope that resolves your confusion. While I now have no clear idea why you are talking about Nicaraguan sign language

Accuracyrequired

Beacause the US embargo on Nicuragua mean that modern antibiotics were not available, they had to give ones like gentamicin, where there is a risk of deafness after several courses, which many children had as there were only one or two antibiotics available.

It resulted in a deaf population where deafness had been virtually unheard of.

The first deaf school was built and in it, the deaf children, spontaneously developed a language, with gramatical rules, standardised signs etc. It is something fascinating to linguists, particularly sign linguists. How often can someone study a language being developed from scratch?

Of course that fascination hides the tragedy that a US governemt policy resulted in children aquiring deafness.

..and that has....what do to with mass vaccination of children against flu? Talk about changing the subject.

So do most 'middle aged' people catch flu from pre school, primary school and early secondary school children? Or is it more likely that they catch it from people at work, who are any age between 16-65 and won't be offered this flu spray?

I'm very surprised potassium phosphate is mentioned as an issue because in the world of woo, potassium phosphate 'nourishes the brain tissue' (but only if you are an Arien).
dherbs.com/articles/aries-health-320.html
www.thebestnaturalremedies.net/browse-remedies/tissue-salts/the-12-tissue-salts/potassium-phosphate

Personally, I think it seems like a very promising idea. I had flu a few years ago. I'm fit, healthy, in my 30s - certainly not a high risk group. I couldn't get out of bed for a week, ended up with pneumonia and nearly had to go to hospital as I had trouble breathing, and bruised my ribs from coughing so much which meant I had weeks of pain even after I got better. It took me weeks to fully recover. Lesson learned the hard way. Now me and my family get the flu vaccine every year even if I have to pay.

If someone wants to pay for the flu vaccine then I think that's fine but to offer it to children to prevent others getting it. Why?
If the gov't wants to prevent the middle aged (that's me) catching it, then offer the jab to me and I can decide if I want it or not. Don't offer it to my child.

Interesting bumbleymummy posted this information. She obviously believes it when she says vaccines may be going in a new direction and I for one and impressed. I'm astounded that anyone COULD believe there are millions of people (in govt, in labs etc) working their asses off to develop ineffective vaccines, or vaccines which are dangerous, or are working to prevent the development of safer and cheaper vaccines. This nasal vaccine is indeed interesting - but I'm not surprised in the least that it has been developed and made available.

I believe the vast, vast majority of people behind the development and distribution of vaccines are doing it for that unselfish act: the common good. Met a few of them at uni. Very nice people.

Why is a nasal vaccine better than a needle in terms of effectiveness of vaccine? Or, no real difference, but easier to administer? Just genuinely interested in whether or not all vaccines will become nasal sprays in time.

I am a huge believer in vaccines of all types. However, I have given my children the nasal spray flu vaccine for the last two years (ds is hysterically petrified of needles) and it has been a disaster. Ds had an adverse reaction maybe last year, but wasn't obvious enough to make a connection. But this year, it very clearly triggered a migraine (he gets these very very badly) and a bad cold and even dd who never ever gets sick got ill with a headache and cold. I suppose it could have all been coincidental, but two years in a row with ds makes me wonder. I have not had a problem in past years with the regular jab flu vaccine for either them or me. I believe that the nasal spray is a live vaccine while the shot is not, but I could be mistaken.

By the way the reason for the flu vaccine is for people with underlying conditions (asthma) that could make catching the flu a much more serious event than for an average person.

Why is it interesting that I've posted it LeBFG? I just thought it was interesting that more vaccines are being developed this way and I wondered what others thought.

I would like to think that if it did turn out to be safer and more effective (perhaps because the administration more closely resembles the path of a natural infection as far as immune response is concerned) that other vaccines would move that way as well.

Sofia, it's good to hear real experiences of it. Tabitha, I do wonder that as well. Is it just easier to add another vaccine to the schedule because most parents will just go along with it rather than trying to persuade adults to get it themselves? Maybe they think it will be more effective in young people because I remember reading that the current flu vaccine is only around 50-60% effective. Who knows!

Natural route of infection was always an argument for OPV - but that went a bit pear shaped at times . Although I don't suppose this would have the same problems.

I do worry about selection pressures and mass vaccination of healthy people with flu jabs because of the nature of the flu virus. If anyone has any links to anything discussing that I would be interested to read it. Obviously I see the point of vaccinating those in at risk groups.

Oh sorry to be clear - natural route of infection was an argument for OPV in some quarters - not something the vaccine manufacturers/dept of health claimed afaik.

Sorry saintly but I'm not sure what the big grin is for? Because people got vaccine induced polio from the opv? I really hope not.

Oh, and just to counter the thimerosal misinformation
www.who.int/vaccine_safety/topics/thiomersal/questions/en/

Absolutely no evidence that thimerosal is a problem at all and Certainly no mention of premature babies.

Oops, wrong thread but doesn't matter, all the same people reading them!

I haven't heard that the flu vaccine will be given to children to protect the middle aged.

But I guess if the thought of children bearing risk for older people outrages you, you'll be similarly outraged that one of the main reasons for not rolling out the chickenpox vaccine in the uk is because of the increased risk of shingles among the elderly (although a vaccine for shingles exists).

Stop relying on bairns elderly people! Get yourselves vaccinated against shingles!

I haven't heard that the flu vaccine will be given to children to protect the middle aged. See the other threads - that seems to be exactly the reasoning.

Stop relying on bairns elderly people! Get yourselves vaccinated against shingles! Yes, why not? Why not target it at the people you want to protect? Instead of another group who aren't affected in the happy chance that it might protect others?

I would totally get FluMist, because it is more effective than any of the shots...