First Swine Flu Vaccine May be Nasal Spray

U.S. health officials said Friday that the much anticipated first batch of the swine flu vaccine, due in October, may be a nasal spray version.

Dr. Jay Butler, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that approximately 3.4 million doses of vaccines will be available in early October. He further noted that all of those vaccines are expected to be in the form of nasal spray. The Associated Press reports. The catch is, a nasal spray version of the swine flu vaccine is only approved for healthy people ages 2 to 49. FluMist, the nasal spray vaccine, isn't recommended for patients experiencing severe swine flu complications. Likewise, those who are not suitable for the vaccine includes pregnant women, children younger than 2, and people with asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases -- considered as the high-risk group. The difference between the flu shots and FluMist is that the flu shots are made up of killed influenza virus while the nasal spray version is made up of live but weakened strain of the virus. In addition studies in adults suggests that shots are more effective than nasal spray when it comes to vaccination.