A Feasibility Trial of Home Administration of Intranasal Vaccine by Parents to Eligible Children

Purpose: Intranasal vaccines are being developed for protection against many different infectious agents. The currently available intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAW) is only approved for administration by medical personnel. We conducted a pilot study to investigate the feasibility of training parents to give LAW to their own children. Methods: Subjects were recruited from several sources: a university-based outpatient clinic, university employee e-mail announcement, and direct referrals from study subjects. After confirming eligibility to receive LAW, consented parents were trained by viewing a video with the study staff. LAW was provided in a cooler with instructions to vaccinate within 24 hours. Telephone follow-up was conducted to confirm proper administration and to assess parental attitudes about home administration. At season's end, immunization registry and hospital records were reviewed to confirm no additional doses were given. Findings: Twenty-seven families with 41 children were enrolled. All participants successfully administered LAIV to their children, and all preferred or strongly preferred home administration to an office visit for getting vaccinated. Two families stated that without this option they would not have otherwise vaccinated their children. Adverse events were minor. All patients had their state vaccine registries accurately updated and none received duplicate doses. Upon review, no reimbursement was received for vaccination. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier HS Journals, Inc.