US breakthrough in the world of vaccines. The Food and Drug Administration has approved, so far only in the United States, the first flu vaccine that can be administered by nasal spray. FluMist – that's the name of the drug – will protect against influenza A and B with an effectiveness equal to that of the injection. For now, it can be rented by people aged 2 to 49. The good news is that this vaccine can be self-administered: a doctor's prescription will suffice.
Bassetti's coup: “Since the Italians are their own doctors…”
In Italy, the FDA approval was greeted with enthusiasm by Matteo Bassetti, who hailed it as a “complete revolution” in a video posted on social media. A step forward, according to the doctor, for those who are afraid of needles. “At this point, it will no longer be possible to say that you don’t get vaccinated because you are afraid of needles, or as some call them, ‘injections’,” he said, not without a thinly veiled nod to anti-vaxxers. “The most important thing,” Bassetti reiterated, “is that it is a self-administered vaccine.” And then another blow, this time to Italians in general: “Since Italians really like to be their own doctor… well, after receiving the doctor’s prescription, even someone who is not a doctor can administer it to you.” It is not yet known when the nasal spray vaccine will arrive in Europe.
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