The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has announced a preference for the use of the nasal spray flu vaccination over the conventional flu shot.

This committee represents a panel of professionals in immunization practices that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 45.2 percent of children in the U.S. between the ages of six months to 17 years received the influenza vaccine over the past 12 months.

This recommendation is geared specifically towards children between the ages of two and eight years where this vaccine spray is immediately available. This preference has resulted from the finding that the nasal spray vaccine may have a better effect on preventing children within this age bracket from being afflicted with influenza in any given flu season.

However, where this nasal spray vaccine is not readily available, the flu shot is recommended right away in order to prevent the flu and any complications that may arise from it.

The CDC has been recommending everyone over the age of six months to receive a flu shot every year since 2010, with very few exceptions.

This new recommendation made by the ACIP must now be reviewed and approved by the director of the CDC. If approved, this recommendation will then be part of the 2014-2015 influenza prevention and control recommendations. It will also be published in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Following these activities, this recommendation will then become an official policy of the CDC.