The flu season is just around the corner, and for millions of adults protection from influenza always has come in the form of a flu shot. But researchers at the University's Center for Vaccine Development are conducting a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a candidate vaccine in the form of a nasal spray for healthy working adults. This figure does not include what is lost in terms of worker productivity. Current influenza vaccine recommendations emphasize yearly administration of an injection, or shot, to high-risk populations where the health and economic benefits of vaccination have been well established. But studies in healthy working adults have not been a major focus.
Influenza accounts for millions of lost work days each year.
Due to the cost of employee absenteeism and medical care, plus the growing number of dual career and single parent families, it is now being examined whether an influenza vaccine should be administered to healthy adults. The test vaccine stimulates immunity that is similar to natural infection. It is a live, attenuated, influenza virus vaccine. Since this candidate vaccine enters the body via the respiratory tract, it is possible that the live virus vaccine is at least as effective or more so than the inactivated vaccine given as a shot in either preventing influenza disease or in decreasing its severity. Volunteers are needed for this study.