A nasal spray appears to be more effective than flu shots in protecting children under 5, according to a major study published today.

Researchers gave either flu shots or MedImmune’s FluMist nasal spray to almost 8,000 young children in 2004 and found that of the nearly 500 children who caught the flu, those given shots caught it twice as often.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was funded by MedImmune, which is trying to persuade the Food and Drug Administration to approve FluMist for use by children between ages 1 and 5. Researchers at the St. Louis University medical school say it’s the largest pediatric study conducted comparing flu shots to the spray.