HealthPartners study will evaluate which flu vaccine is best for children with asthma

In second study, HealthPartners Como Clinic part of international research on FluMist

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A HealthPartners Institute study will compare the safety of flu vaccines given by nasal spray versus a shot for children who have asthma or wheezing. Asthma is the most common chronic condition for children and teens, affecting 9 percent in the United States. For more than 50 years, health experts have recommended that children with asthma get a flu vaccination each year because they are at higher risk of complications and hospitalizations from the flu virus.  

The nasal spray, sold under the brand name FluMist, was introduced in 2003 and is the first significant innovation in flu vaccines in more than fifty years. In 2014, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended giving the nasal spray to healthy children because it is effective and easy to administer. It contains a weakened live virus while a flu shot does not contain a live virus. Neither vaccine causes the flu, but there is conflicting evidence suggesting that a small percentage of children with asthma might experience an increase of wheezing after a vaccination with FluMist. 

“The nasal spray is usually more effective for children and we expect that this study will help clinicians and parents know whether it is the preferred choice for kids who have asthma,” said James Nordin, MD, HealthPartners principal investigator. Dr. Nordin, an expert on vaccine safety, is part of a long-term study of vaccination and vaccine safety called the Vaccine Safety Datalink with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The two-year study, Safety of Live versus Inactivated Influenza Vaccine in Asthmatic Children, will examine de-identified medical records of 23,000 pediatric patients who received a flu shot or nasal spray at a HealthPartners or Park Nicollet clinic this year or over the past decade.  The study is funded with a $425,000 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

HealthPartners Como Clinic part of international pediatric flu study

HealthPartners Como Clinic is one of 12 sites involved in a four-year study investigating the effectiveness of the nasal spray flu vaccine in children.  Researchers plan to compare the effectiveness of nasal spray, flu shots and no vaccine in more than 5,000 children ages 2 -17 in the U.S. and England. In the next two flu seasons, researchers will examine the vaccination history of children at Como Clinic’s pediatric or urgent care clinics who have a fever and symptoms of an upper respiratory infection.   Patients who agree to participate in the study will have a nasal swab taken which will be analyzed by an outside lab.  Researchers hope to determine whether patients who received FluMist, flu shots or no vaccine were more or less likely to get the flu. The study is being sponsored by Medimmune, the manufacturer of FluMist.  It fulfills a commitment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to assess the effectiveness of FluMist in children and adolescents.

Both the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends nearly all people over the age of six months get a flu vaccine every year.

Research studies to improve children’s health is part of HealthPartners Children’s Health Initiative. It includes 10 areas of focus aimed at improving the health and well-being of children from pregnancy to age five.  It’s Important because research shows there is a strong link between health and well-being early in life and health and well-being later in life.