AstraZeneca begins shipping Flumist for upcoming flu season

Ahead of the 2020-21 flu season, AstraZeneca has shipped the first doses of its Flumist Quadrivalent live influenza intranasal vaccine in the United States.

The product is the only nasal-spray flu vaccine. It is indicated for those ages 2 through 49. It may not prevent influenza in everyone who gets vaccinated, according to the company.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently issued statements encouraging the importance of flu vaccination rates for the 2020-2021 season as a part of efforts to help reduce burden on the healthcare system and ensure resources are available should there be a resurgence or continuation at present levels of COVID-19 during that time.

In response, AstraZeneca has increased production of Flumist Quadrivalent doses by over 25% more than previously planned, a majority of which are expected to be available by the end of September.

“AstraZeneca has a long-standing commitment to putting the needs of patients first and protecting public health – and this year it is critical given the current pandemic. To that end, AstraZeneca has increased manufacturing capacity and accelerated vaccine development to ensure we can confidently meet the needs of consumers and the healthcare system. We are proud to provide Flumist Quadrivalent – the only nasal-spray flu vaccine – which helps play a key role in the fight against flu in the United States,” said Mina Makar, AstraZeneca senior vice president of U.S. respiratory and immunology.