Students attending public schools in Santa Rosa County have the option of receiving an influenza vaccination in the form of a nasal spray on November 17 and 18. Parents are concerned that the spray could lead to something harmful.
“In theory all vaccines are great,” said parent and Milton resident Lisa Curran. “My concern is the shedding…I cannot be the only mom thinking about this.”
Curran, a mother of five homeschooled children, is concerned for her teenage son, who is active in the Pace High School JROTC program.
Curran is concerned students who receive nasal spray vaccinations will shed the live virus via the live attenuated influenza vaccine, or LAIV, through secondary transmission, meaning the live virus would pass through the body and come back out through the nose or saliva from the mouth.
According to the Center for Disease Control website, possible side effects from the nasal spray vaccine include runny nose, coughing, vomiting, sore throat and fever.
Not only is Curran concerned shedding could potentially affect other students who are not vaccinated, but also people outside the school including those with a weakened immune system
Although it is possible to inadvertently shed the live virus to unvaccinated individuals via the nasal spray, the CDC website states the occurrence is rare.
The website states no serious illnesses are reported among the unvaccinated individuals who have been inadvertently infected with vaccine viruses.
Sherry Smith, director of student services at the Santa Rosa County School District said the LAIV vaccine protects against four forms of the influenza virus contains a weakened virus.
“We do not see this as a concern,” Smith said.
Smith said the school district is confident there is a low risk of students shedding the live virus to others, based on past experiences when schools provided the vaccinations to students in previous years.
Kimberly Schaffer, who recently moved from Navarre to Crestview, believes schools should not offer the vaccines to children.
“I think the lines are slowly being crossed,” Schaffer said. “You can’t even take Tylenol at public schools…there is so many safety protocols, you have to go through. I feel like this should be separate.”
Like Curran, Schaffer is also concerned for those with a compromised immune system who could easily catch the live virus. In addition to currently being pregnant, Schaffer said she has a compromised immune system.
Schaffer recommends seeing a family pediatrician or medical specialist before making a decision on whether or not to get a nasal flu vaccine.
The nasal sprays are provided by Healthy Schools LLC, a health care access company focused on providing free vaccines to students from voluntary prekindergarten through 12th grade in public and private schools.
Students will not be able to receive a vaccination without parent or guardian consent. Consent forms will be sent out in advance to the clinical date, Smith said.
Curran plans to keep her son at home for at least a week after the county schools begin vaccinating students, in order to prevent him from contacting the virus.
Curran contacted the school about excusing her son’s absence from the school’s JROTC practices.
“I was advised to write out an explanation of our situation and how I'd like for Nathan to stay home from school that week following the nasal mist and they will view this as a prior arrangement of absence,” Curran stated in an email. “I am very pleased that this is being accepted.”
She also plans to speak with Superintendant Tim Wyrosdick about discontinuing the nasal spray vaccinations.
“I would like for them to not do this next year,” she said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Parents question flu mist vaccine