After a switch from nasal sprays to the old-fashioned needle prick, fewer Alachua County students have received flu immunizations this year, UF Health Shands Hospital announced Tuesday.
The percentage of children in the county’s schools who received immunizations dropped by 41 percent from last year, a decrease of about 6,000 students, said Dr. Kathleen Ryan, a UF Health pediatrician and the medical director of Shands’ Control Flu program.
The revelation comes about a month before peak flu season.
“We know that children spread flu more and get more flu,” Ryan said. “They spread it to their family. Our concern is that we won’t protect the community as well.”
Through the program, Shands nurses and UF nursing students provide immunizations to children in the county’s public, private and charter schools from pre-K to 12th grade.
But this year, the program — along with several others across the country — made a switch to vaccines from a nasal spray called FluMist.
The change was made in light of new guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that concluded FluMist was ineffective against one of four flu strains. This, Ryan said, caused the sharp decrease to 8,200 students this year, compared to 14,500 in 2015.
Amanda Phrasavath, a 22-year-old UF nursing student who helps administer immunizations, said the slight pain following a shot should not discourage kids from getting vaccinated.
“When you prevent yourself from getting a disease, you help prevent the people around you from getting the disease,” she said.
