New Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (FluMist) Not Recommended for People with HIV or their Close Contacts

Date of Report: 10/08/2003
Author:  Laurence Peiperl, MD, Medical Editor
Source: AETC National Resource Center

FluMist, a recently approved live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), which is given intranasally, should not be used in people with HIV infection.(¹) Further, no data are available assessing the risk for transmission of LAIV from vaccine recipients to immunosuppressed contacts. In the absence of such data, and because of the theoretical risk that a live, attenuated vaccine virus could be transmitted to the immunosuppressed person and cause disease, use of inactivated influenza vaccine (which is given intramuscularly) is preferred for vaccinating household members, health-care workers, and others who have close contact with immunosuppressed persons.

References

1.		Scott A. Harper, Keiji Fukuda, Nancy J. Cox, Carolyn B. Bridges. Using Live, Attenuated Influenza Vaccine for Prevention and Control of Influenza. MMWR September 26, 2003;52(RR13):1-8