Nasal spray flu vaccine expansion continues

Needle-free vaccination continues to be a gamechanger in the fight against influenza, with New South Wales becoming the latest jurisdiction to begin the rollout of free nasal spray vaccines to eligible children.
 
NSW joins several states in launching the nasal spray, with GPs already administering the treatment reporting its practical benefits to their day-to-day practice.
 
Launched at the clinic of RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman on Tuesday, it is hoped the nasal spray will increase vaccine uptake in children aged 2–4 years ahead of this year’s flu season.
 
‘Talking to patients, they’re really excited by the fact that it’s not a needle,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘My son is incredibly needle phobic and he’s over the moon at the fact that the flu needle is no longer a needle, it’s a nasal spray – he had it last weekend and he loved it. 
 
‘From a parent’s perspective, from a child’s perspective, from a GP’s perspective, this is really, really exciting.’ 
 
Dr Hoffman said GPs should advise families early who are seeking vaccination for eligible children, as the nasal flu spray has a shorter shelf life than the injection, with the current batch of doses due to expire in June.
 
‘They really need to make sure their patients are aware that they’ve really only got April, May and June to do it,’ she said.
 
‘The vaccines are also limited supply, so they either won’t be available or they would have expired, and the only option will be the needle.’
 
While most people only need one annual dose of the needle-free vaccine, some will need two doses, four weeks apart – this includes children aged two to less than nine years with a medical at-risk condition receiving it for the first time. 

Dr Hoffman said ensuring those children received their second dose would also be much easier with FluMist that the vaccine injection.
 
‘It’s much easier to get them to come back than it is with the needle, when they’ve not only been held down, but they’ve also been hurt, and it hurts the next day,’ she said.
 
‘The intranasal spray gets absorbed instantly, and then there’s no ongoing pain, ongoing reminder that they’ve been vaccinated. So, we’re hoping it’s going to be much easier to get them back at that four-week mark.’
 
RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman with NSW Health Minister Ryan Park and Labor MP Maryanne Stuart launching the FluMist vaccine in the state.

Following sustained GP advocacy, NSW becomes the latest Australian jurisdiction to begin its program of free FluMist vaccinations for children as part of their broader vaccination programs ahead of the 2026 flu season.
 
Queensland began its rollout in March, with South Australia and Western Australia to begin their programs shortly.
 
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved FluMist for use in people aged two to under 18 years. Both South Australia and Queensland are providing it free for children aged 2–5, while Western Australia has extended its program to children aged two to under 12 years.
 
With FluMist being available for the first time in Australia, Dr Hoffman said GPs are ‘really hoping’ for a similar uptick in vaccination rates to those seen internationally.
 
‘They’ve been using the nasal spray in places like the UK for almost 20 years, and we know the acceptability, both among parents and amongst kids, is much higher for the nasal spray than it is for the injection,’ she said.
 
‘I’m hoping that in future years it will get expanded to primary school aged kids as well, as it is in WA to children under 12.’
 
The nasal spray rollout is part of NSW’s broader free flu vaccination program under the National Immunisation Program, with the subsidised flu vaccine injection also available for:

• children aged six months to five years
• pregnant women
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged six months and over
• any people aged 65 and over
• immunocompromised people.

flu flu vaccination FluMist influenza nasal spray needle free