The Covid vaccine mRNA technology could also be used against influenza, thus, while we are talking about the fourth dose and a possible recall for the over 50s (here the latest indications from the Ministry of Health), the experts are evaluating the possibility of passing, as early as next autumn, to the administration of a new bivalent vaccine.
What do we know about the new bivalent vaccine against Covid and the flu
Despite the end of the state of emergency, and the progressive but definitive abandonment of restrictions, Covid infections continue to occur and the pandemic curve does not stop worrying in Italy. We are far from a possible return to the complete closure of activities (even if there is already a nation in lockdown, one of the largest since the beginning of the pandemic), but the health minister Roberto Speranza has referred to after Easter the decision whether or not to abandon the use of safety protections indoors (here the reopening calendar).
The winning strategy, however, continues to be there vaccination campaign. Even if the number of positives grows, in fact, intensive care holds up and hospitals are not at risk of collapse as occurred in March 2020. For this reason, how and with whom to proceed with the administration of a fourth dose of the vaccine is now the main topic, an issue that health authorities are discussing.
What we know at the moment is that we are considering the hypothesis of proceeding, as early as next autumn, with the administration of a new bivalent vaccinecontaining two Covid strains (the original revealed in Wuhan and the Omicron variant, which is the most widespread) and the addition of the anti-flu.
Current flu vaccines that use weakened or inactivated pathogens are only about 40 to 60 percent effective against infections caused by the virus. But the scientists hope that mRNA-based shots – which activate an immune response by stimulating cells to make flu spike proteins – may offer greater protection.
Moderna is already working on the first mRNA flu vaccine
It is early to say whether it will be the first bivalent vaccine available on the market, but Moderna on Monday 11 March confirmed that it has begun clinical trials for a flu vaccine that uses the same mRNA technology used in Covid vaccines.
The company said a single dose will be given to 560 participants, who will then be monitored to analyze the onset of possible side effects. The aim, however, is to detect how effective the immune response is against seasonal flu, starting from the Phase 1/2 studies.
The shots (dubbed mRNA-1020 and mRNA-1030) were designed to affect several flu strains, including the H1N1 type known to cause pandemic origin. They are Moderna’s second and third mRNA-based influenza vaccine to enter clinical trials and the only ones to target two types of proteina spikewhich the virus uses to attack cells and proliferate, aggravating the health of the positive patient.
In general, vaccine manufacturers are really racing against time for develop a flu shot based on mRNA, after having received the first confirmation feedback on efficacy and possibility of success.