Parental acceptance of an intranasal vaccine: Example of influenza vaccine

Influenza vaccination coverage of children with chronic disease is insufficient in France, although a nasal live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) has been approved.

We aimed to evaluate the acceptance of nasally administered vaccines by parents of children with chronic illness, by comparing LAIV vs. injectable inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) acceptance.

We performed a retrospective, observational study (December 2014 to April 2015) including parents of all children vaccinated with the LAIV during the 2013-2014 influenza vaccination campaign at our university hospital. It was an opinion survey on the tolerance and acceptance of the LAIV.

A standardized evaluation form was completed by 67/79 parents of all children who received the LAIV (mean age: 113±56 months; 64% with a chronic respiratory disease). The parents responded that vaccines in general were important (99%) but only 58% of them accepted the injectable route of administration. Of the 48 parents of children who had received both LAIV and IIV in the past, global opinion (P<0.0001) and tolerance (P<0.0001) were better for LAIV. For the future, 81% of parents would prefer LAIV, mainly because of needle absence and/or less painful character, and 18% IIV, mainly because of easier administration or habit.

The better acceptance of a nasally administrated vaccine could increase vaccination coverage in the future for nasal vaccines.