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CNN Live At Daybreak

FluMist Vaccine Delayed for Safety Reasons

Aired July 27, 2001 - 07:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The marketing of a long anticipated flu vaccine is being delayed because government scientists are debating its safety now. The vaccine is squirted up the nose instead of injected into the arm.

CNN medical correspondent, though, Rea Blakey can explain it in better detail -- good morning, Rea.

REA BLAKEY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. I actually have two stories to tell you about.

We will start with that nasal flu. The new flu vaccine nasal spray being considered by the FDA advisory panel is called FluMist. It's made by Aviron. If eventually approved, the inhaled vaccine would be marketed to people age 1 to 64.

Now, the early science shows it works by preventing influenza infection from taking hold in the nasal cavity where some 90 percent of infections start. Now unlike the current flu shot, FluMist requires no needle injection, though it would need to be given annually. It's a live weakened virus, not a killed virus like the shot. Both, however, contain the three strains of influenza antigens that would be predicted to be prevalent in the coming flu season and both would take about two weeks before the body develops its immunity to influenza.

Now, if approved, Aviron says it can't be certain that FluMist will be available for this coming flu season, but the company says the product will be ready for the 2002-2003 season. And later today, that scientific panel will vote whether to recommend FDA approval.

I mentioned two stories. There is more medical news today. A new study in the "Journal of Science" indicates brain disorders in the unborn can be corrected with stem cells. Now the research was conducted in monkeys. Scientists injected human neural stem cells into the skulls of three unborn monkeys and the study shows the stem cells distributed themselves, migrating to areas of the brain that were undeveloped.

Now, this leads researchers to hypothesize that human brain disorders like Tay-Sachs disease could one day be treated before baby is born. Obviously that is very preliminary research, Carol, much more work needs to be done, and obviously very interesting because President Bush is agonizing as to whether or not to provide federal funding for such research.

LIN: Right. So these are the embryonic stem cells. So when you say human neuro stem cells, you're talking about embryonic...

BLAKEY: Specifically to the...

LIN: ... which is what's controversial?

BLAKEY: ... the neural system, but these particular stem cells were fetal so they were not embryonic. They were a little bit more advanced. But there are a variety of stem cells and that's part of the debate, Carol,...

LIN: Right. Right.

BLAKEY: ... that because there are so many versions, all of them, some researchers say, should be treated to see what they might be best suited for.

LIN: Got you. All right. Thank you very much, Rea Blakey.

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