The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the institutes belonging to the American NIH, has announced that it has started trials of a universal mRNA vaccine against the flu.
“A universal flu vaccine would be a major public health achievement and could eliminate both the need for annual seasonal flu vaccine development and the need for patients,” said Hugh Auchincloss, head of Niaid. to undergo a flu vaccine every year” The study involves the enrollment of 50 volunteers between 18 and 49 years. In a first phase, the most effective dosage will be defined and subsequently the new product will be compared with the seasonal quadrivalent vaccine already in use to verify its ability to protect against influenza.
The new vaccine aims to boost immunity against flu by using a portion of a protein characteristic of flu viruses: haemagglutinin. This protein has two portions: one that evolves very rapidly and one that is more stable and has very similar characteristics in different influenza viruses. The new vaccine uses this second portion; that could make it able to offer lasting protection against more flu viruses.
“Some strains of the flu virus have significant pandemic potential,” Auchincloss concluded. “A universal flu vaccine could serve as an important line of defense against the spread of a future flu pandemic.”
breaking latest news © Copyright ANSA
