A combined vaccine for both flu and the novel coronavirus has passed an important advanced trial, and may be up for grabs starting 2025. According to the trial results, participants had higher immune responses for both the flu and COVID-19 than when the vaccines are given separately.
By now, we’ve all done our best to collectively erase our memory of the coronavirus pandemic. But as much as it was a horrible and traumatic experience, it’s still very impactful to this day — and the coronavirus is still around. Thankfully, most people are vaccinated by now and we keep it under control, but the virus is still making the rounds, it’s just that we stopped paying attention to it.
Unfortunately, simply ignoring a virus won’t make it go away — but vaccines can make that a reality. Moderna, one of the first companies to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, and also a pioneer in mRNA vaccination, is now trialing a combined vaccine for both influenza and the coronavirus.
An effective combination
“Combination vaccines have the potential to reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on health systems and pharmacies, as well as offer people more convenient vaccination options that could improve compliance and provide stronger protection from seasonal illnesses,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.
The vaccine was tested in a randomised controlled phase 3 trial where 8,000 people were split into two groups. All participants were age 50 and above. Participants were split into two groups. One group was aged 50-64, and the other aged 65 and over. The researchers compared the effectiveness of the new vaccine compared to existing, separate vaccines as well as the side effects.
Researchers found a single dose of the mRNA vaccine to be just as effective as the standard licensed vaccines given together. Actually, in both age groups studied, the combined vaccine produced significantly stronger immune responses against three flu virus strains (H1N1, H3N2, and B/Victoria) and against SARS-CoV-2. The side effects were negligible, comparable to existing vaccines.
Solutions in the making
Normally, such vaccines take years and years to make. But, once again, mRNA technology is showing its ability to deliver fast and very effective results. Basically, mRNA vaccines work by using a small piece of the virus’s genetic code to instruct cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response, teaching the body to recognize and fight the virus. This also makes it particularly suitable for viruses like influenza, which are constantly changing and producing new variants.
Moderna isn’t the only company researching this. Their mRNA rivals Pfizer and BioNTech are also working on a combined vaccine, but Moderna is confident in its chances.
“Moderna is the only company with a positive Phase 3 flu and COVID combination vaccine. Building on the momentum of positive Phase 3 data across our respiratory portfolio, we continue to address significant unmet medical needs and advance public health.”
For now, Moderna is focusing their efforts on people over 50, who are most recommended to take both influenza jabs and Covid vaccines, but they plan to offer the new jab to younger people as well.
In 2023, in the US alone, there were an estimated 35-64 million influenza cases. These resulted in 30 million hospital visits and killed anywhere between 24,000 to 71,000 people. Meanwhile, Covid-19 still causes 4,000 daily admissions in the US alone. Despite the disinformation and conspiracy theories floating around, vaccines are the only reliable long-term protection against such viruses.
“The prospect of improving the patient and provider experience, and public health more broadly, serves as our motivation as we continue to investigate our combination respiratory virus vaccines. We look forward to continuing to leverage our mRNA platform to help lead the charge and address the public health needs posed by these viruses,” a company press release concludes.
