Moderna has tested a combined vaccine against influenza and Covid-19 in a large clinical trial. The product shows good results in adults over 50 years old.
- The American laboratory Moderna is working on a combined vaccine against influenza and Covid-19.
- Phase 3 clinical trial shows good results in adults over 50.
- The combined immune response is more effective than that of separate vaccines.
Combining vaccines to increase their effectiveness: this is the project of the pharmaceutical company Moderna. It has developed a combined vaccine against influenza and Covid-19, called mRNA-1083. In a communicatedpublished on June 10, it announces that the results of the latest tests are positive.mRNA-1083 met its primary endpoints, eliciting higher immune responses against influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 than licensed influenza and COVID vaccines in adults 50 years of age and older, including an enhanced influenza vaccine in adults 65 years of age and older.”concludes the laboratory.
Flu and Covid-19: a more effective combined vaccine
The product was tested in a phase 3 clinical trial, i.e. on a large number of patients. Two groups were recruited, representing a total of around 8,000 people. The first brought together adults over 65 years of age: the efficacy of the new vaccine was compared to that of Fluzone, Sanofi’s flu vaccine, and Spikevax, Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. The other group consisted of adults aged 50 to 64, it made it possible to compare the effects of the new serum with those of Fluarix, another flu vaccine, and Spikevax.
Regardless of the type of virus, the new combination vaccine was always more effective than the others. The trial observed “statistically significantly higher immune responses against three influenza virus strains (H1N1, H3N2 and B/Victoria) and against SARS-CoV-2″the press release underlines.
According to Moderna, the product offers acceptable tolerability and safety.The most commonly reported adverse reactions were injection site pain, fatigue, myalgia, and headache.”the company said.
All of this data is expected to be presented in detail at a medical conference, before a scientific publication. Moderna also announced that it plans to work with health regulators on the “next steps“.
Why develop combined vaccines against influenza and Covid-19?
The American companies Novavax and Pfizer are also developing combined serums against these two viruses, but Moderna is the most advanced.Moderna is the only company with a combined flu and Covid-19 vaccine that has successfully passed phase 3,” emphasizes Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna. For him, these vaccines have “the potential to reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on health systems and pharmacies” and will allow us to offer “more convenient vaccination options” for patients, while providing a “better protection against seasonal diseases”.
