Moderna Is Developing a Single-Dose Vaccine That Combines COVID-19 and Flu Boosters
Moderna is in the early stages of developing a single-dose vaccine that protects against both the flu and COVID-19, the company announced Thursday.
“Today we are announcing the first step in our novel respiratory vaccine program with the development of a single dose vaccine that combines a booster against COVID-19 and a booster against flu,” Moderna’s chief executive, Stéphane Bancel, said in a news release.
Moderna’s mRNA vaccine that is currently being administered is a double-dose vaccine, with a second shot required two weeks after the first for full immunity.
Over 147 million Moderna vaccine doses have been administered in the United States so far, compared with 214 million Pfizer and 14.5 million Johnson & Johnson doses, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vaccine encodes or teaches cells to make harmless the “spike protein” found on the surface of the coronavirus, according to the CDC.
Human immune systems recognize the spike protein as harmful and build antibodies to fight it, thereby protecting against future infection.
Moderna’s combination vaccine will require only a single shot and use mRNA technology to encode COVID-19 spike proteins as well as hemagglutinin glycoproteins, which bind the flu virus to infected cells.
The vaccine is designed to be a booster for those who have received an initial vaccination.
“We believe our mRNA platform can solve the world’s greatest health challenges, from diseases impacting millions, to ultra-rare diseases impacting dozens, to medicines personalized down to the individual level,” Bancel said.
The company also announced that its seasonal flu vaccine, protecting against four different strains recommended by the World Health Organization, is in Phase 1 trials.
Moderna also collected “positive” Phase 1 data on an mRNA vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus, which kills up to 500 children a year, according to the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Today, we shared positive pre-clinical data demonstrating our ability to combine 6 mRNAs against 3 different respiratory viruses in 1 vaccine: COVID-19 booster + Flu booster + RSV booster. #mRNA pic.twitter.com/6AEkhSJrO5
— Moderna (@moderna_tx) September 9, 2021
Moderna did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for additional comment.
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