18 NEWS
18 NEWS
11 OCTOBER 2024 ausdoc . com . au
Adjunct Clinical Professor Karen Price
Immediate RACGP past president , adjunct clinical professor at Monash University and WONCA executive .
HAPPY Birthday , Australian Doctor . We are lucky to have you regularly supporting GPs and interrogating the latest policy twist from deep-space Canberra .
The medical profession needs good dialogue and good journalism , and I have been impressed , and sometimes challenged , with the journalistic
interpretation of our profession . My favourite memories include your unwavering support of the GPs Down Under community , of which I am a co-founder .
During the initial set up back in 2014 , there was plenty of opposition from the powers that be . Australian Doctor understood the necessity of a large , free-flowing dialogue in the GP community . God forbid that professional isolation should continue .
You have also understood the challenges of free , open-access medical education , which also spans peer advocacy and peer support but exists in a flat hierarchy .
Although I am now challenged by your insistence on me sharing a photo of my 1980s big hair , so be it , I guess .
Thank you .
DIY nasal flu vax gets green light
Ciara Seccombe MILLIONS of patients in the US will be able to administer their own flu vaccination via a nasal spray .
The US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ), which approved the move last month , stressed that the spray called FluMist must be prescribed to the patient by a doctor or pharmacist but that the vaccine would be generally available to patients aged 18-49 .
The maker , AstraZeneca , said patients would be expected to fill out a questionnaire on an online pharmacy platform to request a script .
Those with a history of allergy reactions and certain respiratory conditions are excluded ; but if a pharmacist deems the patient suitable , they will write a script before the spray is dispatched through the mail for self-administration .
Two sprays are given , one in each nostril , with each dose costing the equivalent of $ 50- $ 65 .
However , under the FDA ’ s decision , adults will also be able to administer the vaccine to children over two at home as well .
Although FluMist , which has been deemed effective against influenza subtypes A and B , has been in use for over 20 years in the US , approval for self-administration is new .
The efficacy of self-administration was tested from 2012 to 2014 .
The phase IV trial involved 1077 participants , of which 529 selfadministered and 548 had the vaccine administered by a healthcare worker , with similar results .
The trial , published in Vaccine in 2015 , excluded anyone with sensitivity to egg proteins , adverse reactions to flu vaccines , those with immunocompromising illnesses and anyone known to have reactive airway disease , wheezing , asthma or febrile upper respiratory illness .
Of the 5 % of participants who reported issues , failing to properly spray the first nostril and “ removing the ( dose divider ) clip ” were identified as the main problems .
AstraZeneca was contacted for comment about any plans to register the product in Australia with the TGA .
Vaccine 2015 ; 25 Jun .