Nasal spray instead of flu shot! This city launches pilot project with children
Innsbruck (Austria) - Around 800 kindergarten and school children in the Austrian city of Innsbruck are to be vaccinated against influenza free of charge using a nasal spray ! In a joint pilot project of the city and the state of Tyrol, the aim is to increase the vaccination rate and protect more people from flu infections.

"We hope that we can significantly increase the current vaccination rate of around 12 percent - and spare our kindergarten children as well as their families and staff a very unpleasant flu infection over the Christmas period," said Mayor Johannes Anzengruber (45) in a statement from the City of Innsbruck.
In the test phase, groups from the city's two largest kindergartens and schoolchildren from Innsbruck's largest elementary school will be vaccinated - if their parents agree to this in advance.
Vaccinations will then take place in November and December 2024. A second appointment for children who are being vaccinated for the first time will also take place in December.
"With the nasal spray, we immunize the children in the presence of their caregivers in the most sensitive way possible, but never against their will," assured Ulrich Schweigmann, head of the municipal health department.
Influenza viruses can cause fever, cough or headache

Seasonal flu in winter is caused by influenza viruses, which can spread via droplet and smear infection. Symptoms range from a sudden high fever to a dry cough, runny nose, tiredness and severe headaches and muscle aches. Austrian authorities recommend annual vaccination from the age of six months.
In Germany, the Standing Vaccination Commission recommends vaccination against influenza for infants with an increased health risk due to an underlying illness from the age of 6 months. A live vaccine, which can be administered as a nasal spray, is recommended from the age of 2 years.