FluMist Quadrivalent (LAIV) influenza vaccine is not recommended for use in any age group for the 2016-2017 flu season and will not be available through VFC. To address any questions or concerns you may have regarding vaccine orders and availability the following answers are provided for your reference.
Will we get enough vaccine for our patients?
Yes. There are many manufacturers making flu vaccine for the U.S. Market. CDC has assured us there will be enough flu vaccine to meet the flu vaccination needs for both children and adults this season.
How is my pre-book affected?
If you privately pre-booked FluMist, contact your distributor to cancel or adjust your FluMist vaccine order and to order alternate products. For flu vaccine providers participating in the Childhood Vaccine Program, we will provide alternate vaccines to replace FluMist. Providers will likely have to use a variety of products to meet the vaccination needs of children. Providers will order and receive the vaccine through our usual vaccine ordering process.
What do I tell my patients?
Flu vaccination is still the best protection against flu. CDC carefully monitors the effectiveness of all vaccines, and most flu vaccines were determined to be effective and should be used this season. Through the monitoring process, the CDC determined that FluMist was not effective enough to be used this season. The public health system has quality checks to be sure vaccines are effective, and makes changes when they are needed.
What kind of vaccine will we receive?
We will receive a variety of quadrivalent vaccines to replace FluMist for the Childhood Vaccine Program. If you privately book vaccines please contact your distributor to find out what your options are for the coming season. We are replacing FluMist with two flu vaccines – GSK FluLaval MDV, and Sanofi-Pasteur Fluzone .5mL. We listed all of the products we'll have available for the season below.
For more information, see our “Childhood Flu Vaccines at a Glance” chart (PDF).
All providers will have at least two brands, or presentations, of flu vaccine for their population 36 months and older. We will do our best to limit the number of brands and presentations of vaccine any individual provider or organization must manage, but cannot guarantee our ability to do so.
Will this change how I order flu vaccine from the Childhood Vaccine Program?
No. Although the types of flu vaccine we make available varies, you will use the same ordering process for flu vaccine this year as you have in the past.
When will you know more information?
The following links provide up-to-date published information:
- AAP Supports ACIP Recommendation for Use of Inactivated Flu Vaccine (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- ACIP votes down use of LAIV for 2016-2017 flu season (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
The following LAIV announcements are provided for your reference for the 2016-2017 flu season. More announcements will be added as they become available: