This Thursday, November 3, 2022, the American laboratory Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech announced the launch of the first trial phase of a vaccine combining both protection against influenza and against Covid-19. A total of 180 American volunteers will be followed for 6 months to assess the safety, immune response and optimal dose level of this candidate vaccine.
Working on the principle of messenger RNA, this vaccine “could simplify vaccination practices against these two respiratory pathogens, potentially leading to better vaccination coverage for both diseasessaid Annaliesa Anderson, Chief Scientific Officer at Pfizer, in a statement.
A combined vaccine for better vaccination coverage
A single vaccine against influenza and Covid-19, what interest? It is double, according to the doctors. First, as explained by Pr. Mathieu Molimard, head of the pharmacology department at the Bordeaux University Hospital (questioned by our colleagues from France Inter), this combination vaccine will undoubtedly help to improve protection against seasonal influenza: “[le vaccin actuel] is not very effective but there, by working with messenger RNA technology, we will be able to have a production of proteins perhaps of better quality and we hope to have an immune response which will be superior.“
Second, this combined vaccine will probably be able to improve the overall vaccination coverage of the population: “currently, people have to come back twice to get vaccines, which induces a certain fatigueanalyzes Pr. Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, head of the immunology department at the Henri-Mondor hospital in Paris. So combining vaccinations, we know that is a very good thing.“
At this time, it’s unclear when this “two-in-one” vaccine might be available. In addition, still this Thursday, November 3, 2022, the Moderna laboratory also announced that it had started phase 1 of a vaccine targeting influenza and Covid. A race of giants…
