The nasal spray form of the influenza vaccine should not be used next flu season, according to an announcement by the US CDC’s Advisory Panel on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

ACIP said it reviewed data from 2013 through 2016 to assess the effectiveness of the nasal spray for children aged 2 to 17. These new studies found that FluMist offered children virtually no protection against the flu.

In the 2015-16 flu season, the nasal flu vaccine’s protection rate was only 3 percent, which means that no protective benefit could be measured, the panel explained. It’s effectiveness in the previous two flu seasons was also low. In comparison, the traditional flu shot was 63 percent effective among children aged 2 to 17 during the 2015-16 flu season, ACIP said.

Read more at physiciansbriefing.com