Nasal, needle flu vaccines both recommended on P.E.I.

Nasal mist and the traditional needle are both recommended as effective methods to give children flu vaccines, says P.E.I.'s chief medical officer.

That is different from last year, said Dr. Heather Morrison, when Canada's advisory committee on immunization advised that nasal spray should be used because it was more effective than the needle.

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"Now, after looking at all the information from various countries, they're saying this year the recommendation is whether it's the nasal spray or the needle, that both are effective and you can use either on in children aged two to 17," she said in an interview with CBC News: Compass.

That is despite a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that argues the nasal spray offers "no protective benefit" based on data from the last three flu seasons.

'Different every year'

Canada's advisory committee has looked at the studies from the U.S, Morrison said, but also data from the UK, Finland and across Canada and are advising that the nasal mist is still effective in administering the vaccine.

"Influenza every year creates it's own challenges," she said. "It's a little different every year and that's why the surveillance we do provincially and nationally about the strains of influenza and how effective our vaccine is with different strains is important."

Morrison said the flu vaccine should be in P.E.I. by early October.

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