If I ever skip my flu shot, or fail to get one for my kids, it's because I didn't find time to get to the pharmacy during flu shot season. That's why I've been excited for FluMist's home delivery ever since I read about its FDA approval last year. My shots arrived this week (in nasal spray form), and I found the whole experience blessedly painless.
The FluMist vaccine is a nasal spray, not an injection. It's available for people aged 2 to 49 (with some exceptions) and I try to get it for my kids when it's available. My youngest hates needles, and I sometimes have to call multiple pharmacies to find one that has it in stock. So when home delivery became available, I placed my order right away.
How can you get the at-home flu vaccine?
The nasal spray vaccine, called FluMist, still needs to be prescribed by a medical provider. But since nearly everyone aged 2 through 49 is eligible, FluMist’s maker (AstraZeneca) has a created a telehealth website that bundles the provider's approval with an order to an online pharmacy. The process takes about five minutes on average, the company says, and I found that to be accurate.
I had already gotten a flu shot, so I ordered just for my kids. The website allowed me to add multiple people to the same order, so I filled out the questionnaire for each child, giving their names, ages, allergies, and so on.
The website then reached into some big data cloud out there and told me it already knew their insurance information (existentially frightening, yet convenient!) and presented me with my bill: an $8.99 fee, which included $2.50 for physician evaluation and $6.49 for shipping and processing. Insurance covers the cost of the vaccine itself.
Who can use the at-home flu vaccine?
The at-home vaccine is the same as regular FluMist, which is approved for ages 2 through 49. That means babies and older adults will still need to visit a provider for the regular, injectable flu vaccine. Children can get flu shots starting at the age of six months.
FluMist uses a live, weakened virus. It can't give you the actual flu, but it can cause some respiratory symptoms in people with weakened immune systems. So it's not recommended for people who are pregnant, have certain medical conditions, or are immunocompromised or have close contact with an immunocompromised person. If that's you, talk to a provider about your best options. You may be advised to get the regular injectable type, which doesn't include any live virus.
What happens when the at-home flu vaccine arrives
When I placed the order, I had to choose a delivery date (to be sure I'd be home and ready to receive it). It arrived via FedEx, with multiple texts ahead of time letting me know it was on its way. The vaccine needs to stay at refrigerator temperature, so you don't want it sitting out on your porch all weekend. I thought I would have to refrigerate it immediately—the instructions say as much—but it can actually be unrefrigerated for up to 12 hours before administration.
So the box arrived, insulated and with the vaccine packages surrounded by cold packs. There was a "TiveTag" sticker on the interior box, so I followed the instructions to download the TiveTag app from a QR code on the package. It installed quickly, and then I just had to hold the phone up to the RFID sticker on the box. A screen told me that the box had stayed at an appropriate temperature the whole time, so I was good to go.
How do you give yourself the at-home flu vaccine?
Giving the vaccine is simple. To give you a sense: an at-home COVID test is about ten times more complicated. All you have to do here is take off the rubber cap, squirt the vaccine into one nostril, then take off the little spacer around the plunger and squirt into the second nostril. (The spacer makes sure that you get half the vaccine into each nostril.)
If you've gotten a FluMist at a pharmacy, it's the same idea. Adults can administer it to themselves, and children will need an adult to do it for them. Instructions are, of course, provided. After I gave it to my kids, I clicked a link in a text message to "report vaccination," which updates their health records in, again, some big ol' data cloud. (I will also let their doctor know at their next appointment.)
After you administer the vaccine, there is a prepaid envelope you can use to return the sprayers for disposal. The paper packages and inserts obviously could be recycled. That left me with the cardboard box, its insulated foam liner, and six liquid cold packs that the FluMist site says are filled with "non-toxic water" and can be either poured out and recycled, or reused as ice packs if I'd like.
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