The US company Moderna announced good results for its combined flu and COVID-19 vaccine in adults aged 50 and over. Tested on several thousand people, the vaccine “triggered a greater immune response” than the separate vaccines already approved against these two diseases, according to Moderna.
“Combination vaccines can reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on healthcare systems and pharmacies and provide the public with more practical vaccination options”, said the company's general manager, Stéphane Bancel, in a statement.
According to him, the administration of a single vaccine against these two diseases could allow increasing vaccination rates among the targeted population.
Other pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer and Novavax, are working on such a combination vaccine, but Moderna is the first company to provide the results of large-scale phase 3 trials.
The vaccine, called mRNA-1083 and using messenger RNA technology, combines Moderna's “next-generation” COVID-19 vaccine and its flu vaccine candidate, which have yet to receive approval.
How the Moderna study was conducted
The clinical study included two groups of 4,000 people each. In the first group, made up of adults aged 65 and over, the combined vaccine was compared with Sanofi's Fluzone vaccine and Moderna's approved COVID-19 vaccine, administered separately.
In the second group, this time consisting of adults between the ages of 50 and 64, the combination vaccine was compared with GlaxoSmithKline's Fluarix vaccine and also with Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
In each case, the combination vaccine elicited a greater immune response against the COVID-19 and influenza viruses (H1N1, H3N2 subtypes, and the B/Victoria lineage).
Moderna said it plans to submit the detailed results of the study for publication in a scientific journal. Company “will discuss next steps with regulatory authorities“, the statement adds.
